


PMD: Seasonal Drabbles

by Limesar



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: All Mystery Dungeon games will be represented at least once, Alternate Canon, Chapters with spoilers will have a warning beforehand, Inktober, Inktober 2019, Multi, POV Multiple, Spoilers, Spoilers for all PMD games, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-11-09 06:54:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 30,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20849318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Limesar/pseuds/Limesar
Summary: For Inktober 2019.A series of drabbles for Mystery Dungeon, no more than 1000 words each. Any more than that, and this wouldn't get done in time.Latest day: Ripe (That's the finale!).





	1. Day 1: Rings

Sometimes, I dream about my first encounter with Munna. It's a rather hard moment to forget. Then again, everything from the beginning of my adventure here is a hard moment to forget...

Why would she pick _me_ to save this world? I'm not exactly the most generous person by any means - a rich family tends to want to _stay_ rich, after all. Is this a means of humbling me, like some stories I've read in the past? If so, I believe that she's doing that well.

My mind wanders into the space in which I sat. This place was where Munna told me of my role in this new world. Rows and rows of mist surrounded me, obscuring whatever existed beyond it. Several figures of familiar and unfamiliar pokémon stood around the watery pond - was it a pond? Or was it a window to the new world? With hindsight on my side, I know what it represented now.

While I couldn't remember the blue-and-white otter or the orange pig's name, who wouldn't recognize Pikachu? Even for someone like me - who only tried out a couple of video games here and there - I could instantly recall the yellow rat's name.

I was told by Munna to choose my new body. Was my human self not up to the task? I voiced as much to her, but she persisted.

"That's... just how it works," she unhelpfully claimed.

I suppose, with my current knowledge of this world, that being a human in a place only inhabited by pokémon wouldn't be too helpful - and it could be deadly. These creatures possess powers that no human can even _hope_ to attain.

Two of the creatures resonated with me. I circled around the ring of water to meet them.

Axew. When I first met him, he only called himself that. I didn't know that this name also belonged to the scaled species that he was. Upon learning that fact, I was appalled - who could name their pet Cat? Or Dog? Such a practice was apparently common here.

Of course, when he asked me what I would call him instead, I chose a name off the top of my head: Kurtis. A formal name to accompany mine.

Kurtis - bless his soul - accepted the name with stride. Despite his insistence on shortening my name to "Alex," he seems fine with me addressing him properly.

Kurtis is very optimistic with… just about everything. He has a knack for finding something positive in anything - and anyone, for that matter. His focus never seems to be on himself; dare I say it, he's the perfect foil to my mannerisms.

The other pokémon that spoke to me spiritually - and the one I ultimately chose as my new form - was a green… lizard. I'm often tempted to call it a snake, partially due to its species' name, but this creature's limbs technically classify it as a lizard.

"You choose Snivy, then?" Munna sought to confirm.

Because of this dream, I'm only able to replicate the actions I did when I first arrived. I nodded, adding a simple, "Yes."

In the blink of an eye, my perspective had shifted. Gone were the other four creatures around the ring. I leaned into the pond, my body reacting with surprise.

Obviously, I wasn't _truly_ surprised to find myself as a snivy the third time around - or was it the fourth? Fifth? These dreams have been occurring too often lately…

Even then, I still remember my initial thoughts on this revelation. _Am I really this 'snivy' creature? Or is this just part of the dream?_

This time around, I use this lapse in the dream to reflect. _Now that I have the time to think on it, I can't help but wonder... How much have I really taken for granted? From a posh mattress in a lavish mansion to a bare pile of straw in a wasteland... Is this some sort of karmic retribution? I may have been rich, but I don't believe I did anything truly _wrong_. What else am I missing? If I save the world, will I go back to my world, where I can live in prosperity again?_

_...Would I even _want_ to?_

At this point, the dream continued. "Now, please go. Save the world and help--"

I heard a quiet snap, not unlike a radio changing stations. The voice went silent for a few tense moments, before waves of energy rattled my stance.

"H-Help _me_!"

Again, the image of an intimidating, three-headed dragon assault my mind. It chased a pink, pig-like creature with a floral pattern.

When the image disappeared, so too did the voice. I described the pink creature to Kurtis, who called it a "munna". Due to the... strange ways of this world, I shall call her that for now. _I should think of a name soon. She plays a crucial role in my ability to save the world, so simply calling her Munna won't do her justice. Perhaps I should call her Selena..._

The ring around the edge of the water drew closer, splitting into three patterned circles. I had no more time to contemplate, as a light shone beneath me and blinded me.

"Good morning, Alex!"

I open my eyes, still out of it from the dream. As I sit up, the wind blows a bit of dirt into my face. "Good morning, Kurtis. I thought told you to call me Alexander."

"Oh yeah, multiple times!" the axew confirms with a silly grin. "It's just a _mouthful_, though. Hey, how about we go get the gems Gurrdurr promised?"

"Right."

I suppose wondering about Munna or the ring won't do me any favors right now. Building a shelter sounds more important for the time being. I don't know how much longer I can last in the chilly winds of this wasteland. How can Kurtis call this a paradise?

...Maybe I'm just not thinking far enough ahead. Kurtis, you're _quite_ an enigma...


	2. Day 2: Mindless

_ **Breaking: Former Dungeon 'Mon Shares Insight on Savage Mindset** _

_What seems like a cut-and-dry ordeal turns out to further shroud the dungeon phenomenon in mystery. Previously, wild pokémon that attacked explorers in dungeons were deemed as savages with nothing but the most basic of instincts. If one were to stay in a dungeon for too long, they would succumb to these primal instincts._

_However, new information regarding those who fell victim to this property has surfaced. Journalist Saria has brought forth a testimony that claims victims can still be salvaged in one piece._

_"During a rescue mission in Tiny Woods, I happened across an unconscious pidgey," she claims. "As you may know, wild pokémon typically disappear when defeated. That's what I found so odd about this pidgey - she remained on the ground. I helped wake her up, and to my surprise, she acted like any citizen in the Square!"_

_The pidgey in question was Jasmine, who had been reported missing three years prior. Jasmine, alongside a spearow named Jeremy, reportedly ventured into Tiny Woods after a long night of drinking Gulpin's Specialty Berry Blend._

_"Jeremy was the one who dared the both of us to make it through Tiny Woods by ourselves," Jasmine states in an interview. "Due to our sense of direction getting mixed up, we got lost. A lot."_

_Surprisingly, she provides a recounting of her time in the mystery dungeon in the same interview. "I can't say for sure what I was doing in there. It always felt like I was half-awake for the entire thing, but I can still remember the 'thoughts' that I experienced; they were nothing but random sounds and squawks, but at the same time, my body understood them with ease."_

_Jasmine also adds in another interview, "Even though I had basically gone mindless, Jeremy and I still grouped together sometimes. We still knew each other, so I suppose it would make sense we stuck together."_

_There is still the question of how Jasmine had gotten out of this savage mindset. How could Saria have found her unconscious in Tiny Woods? Without any definitive evidence to back up these claims, there's no telling what could have really happened._

_Make sure to check in at Valosse Weekly's next issue!_

_—P, Director._

_ **Breaking: Rescue Team Members Influence "Wild Salvaging" Rates** _

_In the previous issue, a fellow writer, Saria, reported her findings on formerly missing Jasmine, a pidgey who had fallen victim to the mystery dungeon in Tiny Woods._

_Since then, several rescue teams have submitted their stories on this occurrence, hereby referred to as "wild salvaging."_

_"This sort of thing occurs a lot in this team," states Octillery, leader of Team Constrictor. "We don't usually let anyone join, though, since most of them can't constrict opponents like we do."_

_It should be noted that Team Constrictor has a silver rank._

_"Wild salvaging happens occasionally for us," Swampert, member of Team Hydro, notes. "I have a feeling that our rank has something to do with that. As far as Blastoise is concerned, we aren't recruiting anybody. Our team is just about complete."_

_Finally, Golem of Team Rumblerock adds, "As a normal rank team, we hardly ever get to salvage a wild. We don't have a very large team because [of this]..."_

_Now that more pokémon have spoken up about this phenomenon, there's a bit more clarity with wild salvaging._

_The last issue ended with questioning how Jasmine was found in Tiny Woods. Since then, a citizen who wishes to stay anonymous has claimed to have been the pokémon Saria was attempting to rescue._

_"I was retrieving a lost object," he states. "Two pidgey attacked me before the last staircase, and I knocked one of them out before heading to the end of the dungeon."_

_Saria, who rescued this pokémon, confirms, "Yes, he was the pokémon I was searching for. He was at the end of the dungeon, having suffered an electrical attack."_

_"I'm positive [that pokémon] knocked the sense into me," Jasmine claims. She then goes on to add, "Jeremy was the other pidgey he fought. He may still be roaming the dungeon, but because he got us into this mess, I think he deserves to stay there."_

_Additionally, this anonymous pokémon claims to have not been in a rescue team of any kind. It seems as though wild salvaging is possible to achieve without team affiliation, though success rates are as of yet unknown._

_What more can these dungeons do to confuse scientists? In this same issue, there is a study regarding this recently discovered phenomenon that goes into greater detail._

_Make sure to check in at Valosse Weekly's next issue!_

_—C, Producer._


	3. Day 3: Bait

"...and that should result in Grovyle's capture. Any questions?"

Lorenzo listened to the murmur of his guildmates. Despite the soundness of the plan, he still felt a need to interject with something.

He raised a foot, bringing Dusknoir's attention to him. "Yes, Lorenzo?"

"I'm coming with you."

All at once, the guild went silent. Then, various members crowded around him, voicing their concerns.

"Did you forget the _last_ time you fought Grovyle?" Loudred exclaimed. "You nearly _died_! _What_ in the _name_ of _Giratina_ makes you want to go _back_ there?!"

"My gosh, as much as I hate to agree with Loudred…" Sunflora gulped under the normal-type's glare. "...I have to admit he's right!"

"Lorenzo, pally…" Bidoof began, a distraught expression on his face. "Don't do it. I-I dunno if y'all would make it this time…"

The phanpy, however, maintained his determined disposition. "I nearly died there - but that's exactly _why_ I'm going back there: to enact _revenge_."

"That's Lorenzo for you."

Emma brought the attention over to her, bringing her steady frown to light. The eevee walked over to Lorenzo with a sigh.

"Once he's set his mind on stuff like this, there's no stopping him," she stated, turning to Dusknoir. "Even _you_, Dusknoir, can’t keep him from coming along."

"I never said anything of the sort."

Several guildmates expressed their shock at that remark - even Chatot, who seemed unmovable during the plan's discussion, fluttered his wings and shifted his gaze between Dusknoir and the apprentices.

"Y-You have to be joking!" Chatot denied with a nervous laugh. "Guildmaster! Tell him he's joking! I— Guildmaster?"

Wigglytuff, the brilliant, considerate pokémon, was… asleep. Again. Lorenzo couldn’t help but wonder, _How does he sleep with his eyes open? Apparently, _nobody_ here knows._

“There he goes again, hey-hey…” Corphish muttered.

“You’d think he would stay awake for this,” Chimecho whispered to Sunflora, prompting a giggle from the grass-type.

“Although there’s one question I have for you, Lorenzo.” Dusknoir stroked his chin in thought. “What do you intend to do while Azelf, his partners, and I attempt to capture Grovyle?”

Lorenzo scoffed. “Easy. I’ll be the bait.”

“I see… And how do you suppose you’ll bait him?”

“I’ll confront him at the end of Crystal Crossing,” the phanpy explained. “The land around the lake has been blocked off by crystals, correct? He wouldn’t be able to see you from the moment he leaves Crystal Crossing until the place where he fought Azelf.”

Dusknoir nodded, humming affirmatively. “That’s certainly correct. There’s one little flaw with your plan, however.”

“...And what’s that?”

“Grovyle is cunning. Seeing you there all by your lonesome would be suspicious, wouldn’t it?” Dusknoir floated over to the ground-type, moving his arms behind his back. “In that case, he’d be less likely to fall for the trap the guardians and I have set up.”

Lorenzo stared down the ghost-type, but his resolve slowly dwindled. “...Fair point. Why don’t I join you in fighting him instead?”

Something about that statement changed the look Dusknoir gave him. It looked… Well, he couldn’t determine the expression, as there was no visible mouth, but he found the look comparable to smugness.

“That’s very commendable of you, Lorenzo,” Dusknoir praised. When Lorenzo stepped forward, however, he added, “But I can handle it myself.”

He turned to face the rest of the guild, raising his arms. “I apologize for keeping another secret from you all, but the truth is… I have a few associates assisting me with my travels. I can assure you, however, that Grovyle _will_ get captured.”

The guild erupted into gossip once more, while Lorenzo backed off with furrowed brows. He glanced around, spotting Emma looking into the distance.

“Of course he will!”

Everybody faced Wigglytuff, some letting out a cry of surprise. He pumped his arms into the air, a determined glint in his eyes. “The great Dusknoir knows what he’s doing - he’s gone this far to apprehend Grovyle! We shall do our part of spreading the word, and the Time Gear Thief will be no more!”

Chatot cleared his throat before flapping his wings. “Er, indeed! There’s no need to complicate Dusknoir’s plan at this point. Everyone knows their role, so let’s make sure we fulfill them. Dismissed!”

As the other guildmates let out a final hurrah, Lorenzo gazed at the dusknoir with indecision. _Dammit. How will I be able to get back at Grovyle now? Will I get to know why he seemed so… familiar?_

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Emma stated, sitting next to the phanpy. “Grovyle will get caught, so you don’t need to risk your life again.”

“Didn’t _you_ want revenge, too?” Lorenzo argued. “He nearly killed _you_, too!”

“He’s too strong for the both of us,” the eevee countered. Her eyes still stared into the beyond. “If you were to fight him again, do you think he’d spare you this time?”

Lorenzo let out a grunt, glaring at her. “Since when did _you_ care? You wouldn’t believe me when I said I was a human, or when I told you about Azurill’s kidnapping. I practically had to force you into the waterfall with me!”

“But you’ve backed up those claims - at least with your visions!” Emma added, facing him with equal ferocity. “You’ve proven your visions right time and time again! A consistent pattern like that makes it hard to not believe you at this point!”

She turned away again with a huff. “But going with Dusknoir is a death sentence. If you die, who else could use the Dimensional Scream? Didn’t Dusknoir say that was a one-of-a-kind ability?”

“If we succeed, will it matter if I die?”

“_Yes_!” Emma stomped her foot, tears dancing at the edge of her eyes. “Do you know how much _I’d_ miss you? How much the _guild_ would miss you?”

Lorenzo sighed, heading towards the bedrooms. “Alright. I get it. I’ll hang back.”

Emma tackled him, sniffling. “_Good_. Come on, you big dork…”


	4. Day 4: Freeze

_Alex sure is jumpy… I can't blame him, though. It's pretty chilly here…_

Kurtis watched his partner analyze the icy walls. While exploring Glacier Palace, they wound up from Dunsparce and Virizion. Alex had made it a point to stay in this safe zone until they caught up.

"Do you know what this is, Kurtis?"

The axew jumped a little, turning to Alex and seeing the object in question. It appeared to be a bag of some sort, but the crystal material was encased in a layer of ice.

"I've never seen that before…" Kurtis mumbled. He went up and touched the object, feeling a shiver run down his spine. "Maybe we should warm it up and see what's inside!"

"Hm?" Alex glanced to the side. Following his gaze led to a similar object, albeit not covered in ice. "Why don't we check on this one first? Ah, there's another one over here…"

"Oh, sure," the axew said, taking the frozen bag and rubbing the frost off of it. Reaching inside, he found nothing but air. "Aw, _darn it_, it's empty—"

"_...sting, testing... That _seems_ like it did the trick._"

Kurtis froze, staring at the bag with wide eyes. Alex glanced around before settling his gaze on the dragon-type.

The new voice had a gruff quality to it. "_It seems as though this journey hasn't produced much of value, other than these… 'frisms', as Keldeo called them._"

"Frisms?" Alex muttered.

"_At the very least, my mate's enjoying this. I think it's the most fun she's had exploring in years. Can't say the same for me; all this ice has me on edge._"

Footsteps echoed from behind Kurtis. He turned to see Virizion standing tall. Dunsparce rode along her back, a heavy blush on his face.

"Ah, there you are," Virizion stated, tilting her head. "...Did I miss something?"

"_...and I believe at this point, Virizion shows up. I hope I've got the timing down..._"

The group straightened at that remark. Alex rubbed his temples. "You likely just got to the main course…"

"_Virizion, I _really_ hope you're listening in on this,_" the voice huffed. "_My visions aren't as common nowadays, but I wouldn't have recorded this had I not received one then. Anyways…_"

"I… I remember this voice," Virizion whispered. She knelt down to listen more closely.

"_One thing I should get out of the way first: Keldeo still loves you._"

Gritting her teeth, the fighting-type glowered at the frism. "_Really_? Did you forget about that letter he sent me?"

"_His letter wasn't made of his own volition,_" the voice informed with a heavy sigh. "_He had to write it to preserve not only his life, but _yours_ as well._"

Silence washed over the group. Kurtis watched Virizion's expression shift from conviction to disbelief… then to sorrow.

"Why, then?" she uttered. Her voice cracked, something previously unthinkable from the unshakable Virizion. "What would force him to write such a letter? Where is he?"

"_There is one place we haven't checked completely,_" the recording continued, "_and that's the path up ahead. We couldn't make it down the length of the hallway. While I supposedly didn't experience it, my mate… She collapsed before we could head any further. Keldeo could be up there, but the best explanation I can give is that there's little air at such a height preventing most from progressing. In any case, take caution—_"

A distant roar silenced the speaker. "_...Shit. I can't talk much longer. His guards are on the move. I hope you reunite with Keldeo, and I hope we meet again. Dear, I _know_ you're tired, but we need to move…_"

When the final bits of noise cut off, Kurtis gave Virizion a hesitant smile. Despite the somber look on her face, he could tell she had regained something very important:

Hope.

"It's okay," the dragon began, bringing Virizion's attention to him. "Keldeo is alive! _And_ he still loves you! I'm sure that if he really _is_ waiting up ahead, he's waiting on _you_ to rescue him."

Kurtis closed his eyes, grinning. "So you should smile, too!"

Opening his eyes back up, he spotted the tiniest of smiles on the fighting-type's face.

"...Never change, Kurtis," she said, shedding a few tears.

"Indeed," Alex piped up. He paused for a moment, noticing everyone else had set their eyes on him. "...What? You know I care about this team very much, too."

"Um, I don't think that's what…" Dunsparce pointed his stinger behind the snivy.

Alex turned around and spotted another frozen frism. "Ah. Let's see what this says…"

He rubbed the frism, melting the frost off of it.

"_...got to the main course... that letter? ...Indeed._"

The snivy snorted, as did Kurtis.

"I think this one overheard us," Alex noted. "Out of context, this string of statements seems… _absurd_."

"...What do you mean— _Ohh_." Dunsparce snickered, glancing up at Virizion. "A letter doesn't sound like a good meal, does it?"

"No, I suppose it doesn't," she added dryly.

"Why, _excuse_ me! This letter consists of only the _finest_ of oak innards," Alex spouted, his accent taking on a posh, almighty tone, "complemented with the simply _divine_ taste of maple syrup. Thou shalt eat thine words tonight!"

Kurtis and Dunsparce busted out laughing, with Virizion adding a chuckle of her own. Soon, even Alex dropped his accent and joined in on the laughter.

As they calmed down, Kurtis picked up one of the frisms and put them in Alex's bag. "We should take these home. Emolga would _love_ a souvenir!"

"Oh, that's a great idea!" Dunsparce exclaimed. For a moment, his stinger sank. "He'd get something from our adventure, even if he didn't get to come along…"

Virizion nodded, sending the normal-type a sympathetic look. "I think that would be a good idea as well."

"Then it's decided," Alex proclaimed, stuffing another frism in his bag. "These shall come along."

With their new items in tow, the group continued onto the next floor.


	5. Day 5: Build

Damien stood with his arms at his hips. "_This_ is the Expedition Society? With a term like that, I thought you all would have some class." 

Archen deadpanned at the pikachu. "You shouldn't have gotten your hopes up, then…"

When Aubree had led Damien into the Expedition Society's front door, seeing an archen, a buizel, and a swirlix running around and breaking a holographic globe was… rather low on the former human's list of expectations, to say the least.

"Ey, don't say that, Acro!" Buizel chided, patting the rock-type on the head. "It's not like Swirls had a perfect apple or anything--"

"He had a _what_?!" Acro flared his wings, glaring at the water-type. "Chief specifically told us _not_ to feed Puffers anything larger than a big apple, and you had the bright idea to give him a _perfect_ apple?!"

"It wasn't me, I swear!"

"Who the hell _did_ then, Jay?"

Damien rolled his eyes, turning to Aubree. "This is what you signed up for. Happy?"

"_Obviously_!" The riolu pumped her fists into the air. "If every day is as exciting as this, I can't _wait_ to start here!"

Shoulders sagging, Damien let out a moan. "Fantastic."

"_Right_?! C'mon, Damien, let's find the 'Chief'!"

"Wha-- Hey, hold up a minute!" Acro went up to them and spread his wings, attempting to block them. "You think the Chief would just let _anyone_ in? This place would be jam-packed if that were the case--"

"Did somebody say _jam_?"

Acro nearly jumped out of his scales, whipping around. Damien peered over the archen, spotting a very familiar face.

"Uh-- Ch-Chief!" Acro exclaimed. "I thought you were out shopping!"

Stepping forward, Ampharos crossed his arms in thought. "...I _was_? I only just found the list. Antoine, you still have it, right?"

Beside him, a dedenne stared at him with half-lidded eyes. She shook a long, thin piece of paper easily twice her height. "Yes, Chief."

"Great! Let's go shopping--" Ampharos looked ahead, finally noticing Damien and Aubree. "Oh hi, Cloudchasers! I didn't know you were visiting!"

Jay and Acro both tripped over themselves. When they recovered, Jay blurted out, "Cloudchasers? What kinda team name is _that_?"

"It's _ours_," Damien clarified, sending the buizel his signature glare. He returned his gaze to Ampharos, taking out his gadget. "Mind explaining why these labels don't mention anything about a 'Junior' Expedition Society?"

"Oh, that's easy," Ampharos informed with a suspiciously innocent smile. "There isn't a Junior one."

Aubree gasped, lifting her gadget and admiring it. "We've been a part of the Expedition Society this _whole time_?! Damien, that's _amazing_! Oh, oh, then everyone here has to be our friends, right?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," the pikachu muttered.

"But why not?" she whined. "A head of myself would look cool, wouldn't it? Oh, what if we get statues of _both_ of our heads?!"

Ears falling forward, Damien displayed his tired frown while a couple of chuckles echoed through the room. _Aubree, of all the things you get me into…_

"You two act like you're part of the family already!" Jay laughed. He suddenly stopped, clearing his throat. "_But_... do you have what it takes for the initiation ceremony?"

Aubree cocked her head, while Damien noted the exasperation on Acro's face.

"Initiation can wait, Jay," the archen mumbled, leaning closer to the buizel's ear. "We still need to fix the Nexus--"

"Ah-ha! That's what's missing!"

Startling the two members, Ampharos raised a confident finger. "Be sure to rebuild the Nexus by the time I--"

"We," Antoine corrected.

"--_We_ get back," the taller electric-type finished, heading out the door with his dedenne associate.

"...Phew…" Acro sighed. "We still have a bit of time. Jay, _you_ explain why the Nexus got destroyed again."

"_Again_?" Aubree repeated, eyes widening.

Jay scoffed. "Fine, fine. Don't worry, Riolu, this stuff happens all the time! Good thing Chief had the great idea to make it easily fixable."

"Um, actually, that was Maya--"

"Maya, Chief, same difference!" The buizel flashed a grin. "So yeah, good luck fixing it, Acro."

"Now wait just a--"

Before Acro could react, Jay had dashed off into one of the hallways. The archen inhaled, bringing the tips of his wings to his beak, and exhaled.

"Okay. _Okay_," he muttered. He searched through his bag before groaning. "Dammit, where'd it go-- _Augh_!"

The rock-type's feathers bristled. Glancing at Damien and Aubree, he gave a nervous smile. "You don't happen to have a connection orb with you, do you?"

Damien scoffed, pulling out his connection orb. "Yeah. Catch."

He tossed the orb, watching it land squarely on the archen's head. "...Nice catch."

"_Damieeen_…" Aubree whispered with puppy eyes. "Don't _hit_ him with _iiit_…"

"I didn't," he denied. "I told him to catch it. Not my fault he didn't catch it."

"Gee, how generous…" Acro muttered, taking the orb and placing it in some sort of terminal.

As he did so, the terminal began a low humming. The base of the metal plate started spinning, and the blue light they had seen when they first entered flickered on.

However, the holographic globe that returned was mostly blank, save for one continent.

"...That'll do for now," Acro grumbled, taking out the connection orb and handing it back to Damien. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go get Jay."

Now that the two were alone once again, Aubree turned to Damien with a grin.

"...What's with that smile?" the pikachu asked.

Aubree poked him before running off. "Tag, you're it!"

Damien sighed, following the riolu at a leisurely pace. He stopped in front of the Nexus, looking up at the lone continent. _This is a truly incredible piece of work. I'm actually kind of impressed that these pokémon could build such a device._

He heard a snicker down the hall, and he rolled his eyes. With a horribly sarcastic tone, he said, "Oh, _no_, where did Aubree go…"

Aubree took in a sharp breath before running past him. Damien only smirked.


	6. Day 6: Husky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <strike></strike>   
(No, this won't be lewd. I had the Teen rating in mind, and I'm not going to change it. Sorry. Also, there isn't a husky pokémon. Again, sorry. I did what I could.)   


_Hey._

_I know we haven't been on the best of terms since… Well, you know what I'm talking about. However, though I wouldn't say it to my leader's face, you're a lot more reliable with these sorts of things._

_I need your help. With my teammate. I have a crush on him. No, I'm not joking. Every time I see him lift a boulder or use his rock smash technique, I drool at the sight of his muscles. I love the way he talks, the way he smiles at me, the way he moves… I blush just thinking about it. I wish I could hear his husky voice when we go on a wild night…_

_But he doesn't know how I truly feel about him, though. What am I supposed to do? I don't know if he's even attracted to males. I've been teammates with him for so long, but if I tell him how I feel, and he rejects me, that would sour our interactions from then on._

_You've watched over us during our training. I'm sure if anyone would know him intimately, it would be you. Do you know if he might find males attractive? Would he reciprocate my feelings, or would he turn down my advances? How should I go about in advancing our relationship?_

_I don't know if I should be asking these questions. My leader certainly wouldn't approve of this, but I could care less about what he thinks of this._

_Please respond in haste,_

_C._

* * *

_It's good that I still mean something to you. Don't take that as offense; you and your teammate both care more about this region than your leader does nowadays. If things had turned out different back then, perhaps there would be no need to send letters back and forth…_

_You've certainly expressed your sexuality during our training, even if you never said it aloud. After all, actions speak louder than words. I can still picture that blush of yours; redder than the sunset, or even the lava of Mount Blaze._

_Sadly, I didn't spend much time with your teammate. He had only joined near the end of our training, so I didn't have as many opportunities for one-on-one moments._

_That isn't to say I haven't learned much about him. In one session, he admitted to me that he wished to be a father someday. While it has been a long time since then, I'm sure he still believes that._

_Don't be discouraged, however. He seemed open to the idea of his mate being either gender when I discussed it further with him. "As long as I have someone to call my kid," he said._

_I'm sure he would gladly adopt a child of his own if he can't otherwise breed with his mate._

_As for advancing your relationship… One thing you should absolutely avoid is rushing it. Start with little things here and there, like helping with paperwork. Perhaps fix something for him - I'm sure he'd love to try your cooking. If not, you can let him teach you._

_I have a question of my own, if you don't mind: how have you been doing? I hope you're doing well, despite the horrific accident back then. We're all doing what we can._

_Best regards,_

_X._

* * *

_I haven't been feeling right as of late. My aura reading has become inconsistent at best. I can't seem to focus long enough to start it up. It's as if I had forgotten my training…_

_Additionally, I've become more alert. You may not consider this a problem, but every little sound I pick up has me on edge. It doesn't help that, being in the middle of the city, there's lots of noise around the office. At least my wariness keeps the burglars out._

_My teammate has noticed this trend. He suggested moving to the outskirts base, but I'm uncertain if that would truly help. What do you think of that idea?_

_Speaking of my teammate, I haven't been able to test the waters with him. By the time I received your letter, this sense of danger had already kicked in. Frankly, I'm a bit scared. Of a lot of things now. But especially the possibility of rejection._

_What can I do? Do you know what's causing this? Why am I so afraid of everything now? Sometimes I feel like I need to flee. I haven't the foggiest idea why that is. Is there any hope of lowering this newfound stress?_

_Please respond,_

_C._

_ Please help _

_ Please help _

_ Please help _


	7. Day 7: Enchanted

Although the trip through the dungeon had been easier, Etcher felt as though the "treasure" of Choco Fields didn't seem like much of a treasure. Four square pieces of chocolate wasn't going to feed one pokémon, let alone an entire village. He had just left and entire _mystery dungeon_ made of chocolate, for crying out loud!

He sighed, staring at the pieces in his bag while waiting for his client to arrive. The mareep turned to Wyatt and Lass, shrugging. "What do you think is so special about these?"

Mirroring the shrug with his ears, Wyatt said, "Not a clue. They _do_ look _especially delicious_, though."

Etcher groaned. "Why am I your friend again?"

"To be fair, he has a point," Lass defended, jabbing her tail towards the chocolate. "The dungeon floor was dark chocolate. These pieces clearly aren't dark chocolate, but they're brighter than any milk chocolate I've seen"

Pausing, Etcher glanced at the ekans. "...Is _that_ why you split off from the group?"

"Maybe if that tile you uncovered wasn't a warp tile, you two wouldn't have split off from me," she explained with a hint of spite. "And don't tell me you weren't drooling at the chocolate stream— Yes, I saw _both_ of you doing that."

"Okay, _okay_, sheesh." Etcher raised a paw between them.

As things settled down, Wyatt pointed ahead with a grin. "There he is! Hey, Shuckle!"

"Howdy to you too, Wyatt," Shuckle called, waving at the wynaut. "Sorry about my tardiness. Little Aron wouldn't stop buggin' me. Anyways…"

The group of three approached Shuckle, and Wyatt pulled the chocolate out of Etcher's sack. A smile spread across the bug-type's face.

"Perfect! Oh, these are simply _divine_!" he exclaimed, gathering up the treats. "When I get around to making perfect cookies, we'll have the greatest feast in the village! Here, I'll give you your reward…"

Etcher tilted his head, furrowing his brow. "'Perfect cookies'? Why call them perfect?"

Gawking at the mareep, Shuckle stated, "Don't you know? It's a legendary recipe, said to entice even the strongest of pokémon! This perfect chocolate is but one of the ingredients for the recipe."

He broke off a tiny chunk of the corner from one piece and handed it to Etcher. Repeating this process for Wyatt and Lass, he nodded. "Go on, have a bite!"

The electric-type reluctantly took a bite… A wave of sheer delight eclipsed his body, weakening his legs almost to the point of collapse.

"Oh my _gods_," Wyatt mumbled, trembling on the spot. "It's so _rich_… I almost feel full already!"

Lass nodded at the wynaut's statement, coiling up. "All _this_ from just a tiny little piece? What is this chocolate _made_ out of?"

"Nobody really knows," Shuckle admitted. "Some say it came from a special plant, others think it grew from the mystery dungeon…"

He gazed long and hard at the chocolate. "...Whereas I believe this was enchanted. I should pack these up before anyone else sees us—"

"Pack _what_ up, you say?"

Yelping, Shuckle whipped around to face an approaching Slowking. "Zeph— Zephaniah, there you are! Ha-ha, I just—"

He quickly hid the chocolate behind himself with a nervous smile. "These have to be your best students yet! I was just about to give them their reward! Are you here to congratulate them?"

"What kind of chocolate is that?" Zephaniah inquired, adjusting his glasses. "I don't believe I've seen that particular variety."

"I— Well, Etcher and the others got them for me, and—"

"It's perfect chocolate," Wyatt blurted out. "He's using to make perfect cookies for the annual feast."

Zephaniah's expression shifted. While Etcher tried to figure out what got the slowking thinking, Shuckle glared at the wynaut.

"Can I have some?"

In a manner unlike anything the mareep had seen before, Zephaniah leaned forward with a glint in his eyes. His smile crept up ever so slightly, widening to the point of creeping out Etcher. 

Shuckle paled, stuffing the chocolate in his shell. "Y-You can have some when I'm done with the baking."

The psychic-type's smile shattered, replaced with unprecedented anger. "No! You will give me the chocolate now! _All_ of it! I _must_ have it— No, I _need it_!"

He leaped at the hermit with a snarl. Etcher dashed between them, charging up a thundershock and jolting the slowking square in the stomach.

Reeling back, Zephaniah glared daggers at the mareep. "Get _out_ of my way."

Etcher glanced at his teammates with a stern expression. "Get Shuckle somewhere safe, make sure nobody sees him."

Lass nodded, pulling a stunned Wyatt closer to the shuckle, who had hidden in his shell once again.

"Good luck," she said. Alongside Wyatt, she darted down the crossroads.

Before the mareep could return his gaze to the fight at hand, a cold punch knocked him into the air. He struggled to reorientate himself, letting out a discharge attack in the hopes of hitting something.

Fortunately, he managed to hit Zephaniah. Etcher landed on his back, briefly thanking the gods that he had an extra layer of wool.

He stood back up, already panting. _Is the chocolate _really_ that important, old guy?_

Barely avoiding a hydro pump, the electric-type sifted through his bag for any helpful items. As luck would have it, he had a single sleep seed. He chucked it at Zephaniah without a second thought.

The seed entered the slowking's mouth while he was charging another hydro pump. He fell to the ground, fast asleep.

Etcher huffed and puffed, taking out an oran and munching on it. _Will he still attack when he wakes up? I don't think I can withstand his assault much longer…_

"Augh…"

He froze, watching the slowking sit up and rub his head.

"...Oh, Etcher," Zephaniah mumbled. "What brings you… here… Why am I in the Garden?"

"Enchanted chocolate," Etcher quickly clarified. "You went nuts."

"Oh. Oh, dear."

Sighing, Etcher glanced towards the crossroads. _Well… _This_ is going to complicate things for sure._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <strike>This is based off of the WiiWare Mystery Dungeon games. It has such a short story, so expanding upon it took a bit longer than I had expected.</strike>


	8. Day 8: Frail

Damien stared at Aubree with half-lidded eyes. "So Pancham wants us to steal."

"Uh, I wouldn't call it _that_." The riolu scratched the back of her head. "Wouldn't it just be borrowing?"

"Take one look at that gabite and say that again."

Aubree looked Gabite dead in the eyes, no doubt seeing the rage. She turned back to the pikachu with an oblivious grin. "That."

Planting a paw on his face, Damien groaned. _Why did I agree to taking her with me…_

The ground trembled beneath him, and before he knew it, Gabite was up in his face with a snarl.

"You wanna have a go, then," Damien stated, not even fazed by the dragon's advances. "Alright, alright. Gimme a moment, will you?"

Gabite responded with a claw swipe, slashing the electric-type in the cheek. Damien wobbled back, holding the injured cheek with a hand while he shuffled through his bag.

"Impatient, aren't you?" he droned. "One moment's all I need. C'mon, where's the damn…"

A war cry echoed from behind him, followed by a blue blur striking Gabite. The dragon recoiled just long enough for Damien to pull out the item he needed.

"There we go," he proclaimed, presenting the seed. "A blast seed. You know what these do, don't—"

The ground below him gave way, a cloud of dust swirling the pikachu. He shielded his eyes, but the debris of the sand tomb wore him down. As the dust cleared up, his vision had already started blurring.

_Fuck… Now where did he go—_

His blast seed had disappeared from his hand.

Damien's eyes widened. He checked the fur on his body while more sand poked at him. The seed wasn't anywhere near him! If he could get his feet out of the sand…

"_Catch_!"

An oran landed beside him, which he quickly picked up and ate. Some of the sand had gotten on it, causing a disgusted shiver to roll down his spine.

"Where's Gabite?" Damien shouted, unsure if Aubree could hear him.

The pikachu heard an explosion, and the dust completely settled. However, the dirt in his eyes still made it difficult to see. He pulled his feet out of the sand, blindly running in the direction of the explosion.

Bumping into a hard, scaly mass, he wiped off the dirt from his eyes and spotted Gabite's unconscious body.

He turned to face Aubree, unable to mask his shock. "How did you find the blast seed?"

"It was laying on the ground!" she corrected, a proud smile on her face. "We beat him! Maybe he'll listen to us now!"

"Doubt it," Damien said. "If he wasn't going to let us have a gem, what makes you think he's going to give one to us now that we've beat him?"

"Uhhh…"

A blush spread across the fighter's face. "I dunno. Maybe if we tell him Pancham made us do it?"

"I don't think he'll buy that excuse," Damien added. He put his paws behind his head and sighed. "He's gonna have it when I'm done here…"

"Who's gonna have what?"

The pikachu deadpanned, glancing at Aubree from the side. "Pancham is going to have a thundershock to the face when we get back."

"..._Whyyy_?" Aubree asked, frowning. "We can't fight our classmates!"

"Oh, we can't?" Damien repeated, a mocking grin on his face. "Even when he essentially told us to steal from a dragon's hoard? Classmate or not, he's getting a _private lesson_ from me _personally_. You're welcome to attend."

Aubree gasped. "I _can_? What's the lesson about?"

Sighing in relief, the electric-type put a finger to his mouth. _Thank the gods I can use her short attention span to my advantage here…_

"You'll find out soon enough," he stated.

He heard a low groan, followed by Gabite sitting back up.

"Ugh, my ear holes are still ringing…" the dragon muttered. He froze upon setting his gaze on the duo. "You're still _here_? I thought you'd be stealing my gems by now!"

"Okay, let's back up a moment," Damien ordered, crossing his arms. "First off, while we knew there were gems in this cave, we didn't know they belonged to someone. I'm sorry about the miscommunication there."

"...Is that so?"

Aubree nodded with a little too much enthusiasm. "Yessiree! Pancham and Shelmet dared Damien here to go get some gems from here, so I decided to join along, so we got to explore the forbidden tunnel and found you here and—"

"You're not helping," the pikachu interjected, turning to Gabite and backing away. "We don't have any further reason to be here. C'mon, Aubree—"

"Wait."

Damien halted, perking his ears. "Waiting."

"You mentioned a pancham and shelmet, correct?" Gabite inquired to the riolu.

"Uh-huh," Aubree confirmed.

The dragon-type exhaled through his nostrils. "I saw those two here just the other day looking for my gems. Though they were little kids like you, they seemed eager to trash-talk my lackeys' inability to stop them."

"Yeah, they're a bunch of little pricks." Damien noted the glare the dragon sent him. "Pancham and Shelmet, not your drilbur buddies."

"But when I confronted them…" Gabite smirked. "Heh, they just scampered off like wimps. I guess that's why they convinced a glass cannon to deal with me."

Damien felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Finally, someone gets it! You wouldn't _believe_ how many of the village pokémon called me frail. Granted, this battle doesn't set a good example for proving them wrong…"

"I've fought several electric-types back in the day," Gabite explained. "Even with my immunity to their best attacks, they can still pack a punch. An emolga I fought once had a _killer_ acrobatics technique, even if a dragon claw from me nearly knocked him out. He also had a knack for making smart plays with his dunsparce friend."

He glanced between the duo before nodding. "You two definitely make a formidable team. Come."

Damien furrowed his brow. Looking at Aubree's gleeful expression, he couldn't just reject that request.


	9. Day 9: Swing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains major spoilers for Mystery Dungeon: Explorers. Just be warned.

I stared out into the ocean, silently combing over the waves while I pondered. Each wave glittered in the moonlight, but their beauty had long since dwindled. The dark clouds ahead indicated an upcoming storm, making me wonder if my hideout would flood again.

_The wooden lid I got should keep it all out,_ I hoped. _If that isn't the case, I still shouldn't get as much rain here._

Despite this, there was still the sense of unease I couldn't shake. Maybe I was just being a little paranoid. Maybe this storm wouldn't be as bad as last time.

Maybe I was just scared of what Lorenzo and I needed to do.

A shuffling sound alerted me, and I turned my head, watching Grovyle get off of the swinging hammock and head out of the hideout. He didn't seem to notice me, so I trailed after him.

Poking my head out the exit, I saw him sitting by the edge. I approached him and sat by his side.

"Can't sleep either, huh?" the grass-type noted.

"Yeah…" I glanced back out into the ocean. "What was it like? Being with Lorenzo?"

The corner of Grovyle's mouth twitched. "We were just doing what we could. The future had a small town's worth of humans when the collapse happened - possibly the size of Treasure Town. Only five survived the initial fallout, including Lorenzo. I don't think the other four are alive at this point."

"Did… What do humans look like?" I asked. It seemed like the easiest question to ask at this point; it was objective. There were so many questions I could've asked, but I wasn't sure if I could stomach any potential answers.

"Hm…" Grovyle swung his legs along the ledge a little. "Well, the best comparison I can think of is… Picture a machoke."

I arched a brow. "Uh… Huh. Okay?"

"Now, instead of the ridges atop its head, think of a layer of hair." He grimaced. "...The face is the trickiest part to describe, I have to admit... "

"...Um."

Grovyle put a claw over his snout, letting out a sigh. "Alright… Here, I'll try to draw a human face. How about we head to the beach?"

"Wh— No!" I exclaimed, immediately putting a paw to my mouth. "Sorry. I don't want anyone to see us. Let's stay here."

"Fair enough," the reptile said. "Moving on… Lorenzo, being a human, couldn't defend himself very well from other pokémon. The best he could do was swing his arms or kick his legs. He was my trainer, however, so he could rely on me when things got rough."

"What's a trainer?"

Grovyle glanced away, furrowing his brow. "Trainers help pokémon grow stronger. In return, a trainer's pokémon helps them thrive. It's not always as simple as that, but I digress. Because of Lorenzo's dimensional scream ability, we could survive a lot easier.

"We then stumbled across a time gear." He smiled, if only for a brief moment. "Coincidentally, it was the one in Treeshroud Forest. This was when we first met Celebi. She confided with us that she was trying to escape from Dialga's henchmen."

My eyes widened at the mention of Treeshroud Forest. _The dungeon we're about to journey to…_

"Because neither she nor Lorenzo could understand each other, I had to act as a translator between the two," Grovyle continued. He cleared his throat. "_ǝɔᴉoʌ ʎɯ uo ƃuᴉxɐʇ ɹǝɥʇɐɹ sᴉ ǝƃɐnƃuɐl uɐɯnɥ ƃuᴉʞɐǝdS_. I'm still a little rusty, but I think I still got it."

I blinked, tilting my head. "What did you say in human-speak?"

"'Speaking human language is rather taxing on my voice'," he clarified with a smirk. "Well, that's what language Lorenzo spoke then. He couldn't understand anything a pokémon said, so I had to learn to speak his language. Some colloquialisms didn't translate well into his language, which made for some… very _embarrassing_ moments, to say the least.

"Anyways, we then formulated a plan: come to the past and gather the time gears." The grass-type winced, looking away again. "In theory, the plan sounded risky, but it was all we had. When we finally got the locations ingrained in our memory and attempted to travel in time…"

He sighed. "...Well, you know the rest."

Knowing the hardships of Lorenzo and Grovyle, I couldn't help but feel sorry for them… And just when they thought their plan was going right, they got separated, one of them losing their memories altogether. _How did Grovyle feel when Lorenzo didn't arrive with him?_

I didn't think asking that question would do any favors, but I needed to know. "When you came here - to the past - what did you do when you couldn't find Lorenzo?"

Grovyle remained silent for a good while, staring out into the sea. I couldn't blame him.

"I felt crushed," he finally said. "My lifelong partner was seemingly gone. At the same time, I couldn't stop to mourn him. Our quest for the time gears couldn't afford too many delays. I just had to hope he was alive somewhere and continue with the mission."

My body slowly tensed up. "...How much time do we have left?"

The grass-type closed his eyes. "If I had to guess… At best, we have two weeks remaining."

Suddenly, the ground beneath me felt cold to the touch. "Two weeks…"

Nodding, Grovyle looked at me. "We still have time, even if it'll be close. Everyone needs to do their part. We can't give up now."

"I… Right," I mumbled, tears obscuring my vision. "We can do it. We _have_ to."

Up ahead, the sun peered over the horizon. Grovyle gazed at it, as did I.

"This is the first time I've been able to take in the sunrise," he stated. "It's… remarkable."

My heart melted. "I never thought I'd take something like the sunrise for granted…"

We kept staring at it for what felt like hours. With my newfound appreciation for the sight, I turned around.

"Let's go wake up Lorenzo."


	10. Day 10: Pattern

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will contain spoilers for the ending of Rescue Team. Just be warned.

"C'mon, sleepyhead! Don't wanna be late, do ya'?"

The pikachu rubbed his eyes, glaring daggers at Aubree before catching up with her. _If you weren't so damn _adorable_…_

"Easy there, Aubree," Acro interjected, glancing at Damien with concern. "We're not in a rush, you know."

Damien grumbled incoherently to himself. He looked at the rock-type. "Where are we supposed to meet this 'President', huh?"

"Just over there."

Following the archen's wing, Damien saw a tall building, with designs and colors based off of a gulpin and swalot. A large, colorful sign with a plaid pattern hung above the entrance, reading, "Gulpin's Café and Link Shop."

"Ooh, a café!" Aubree exclaimed, turning to Damien with a giddy grin. "I bet they can make orange smoothies! C'mon, let's go, let's _go_!"

She pulled Damien's arm, and before he or Acro could object, she had already dashed off with the pikachu in tow. Stopping just short of the entrance, the riolu plopped Damien onto the ground.

"Next time, let me walk at least," Damien chided, rubbing his aching arm. "You hold me way too tight."

"Aw, okay!" Aubree trotted inside without another word.

Once Acro had caught up, he stared at the electric-type incredulously. "Does she do that often?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Damien said with a shrug. "At least she only does that with me. Imagine the chaos she’d make if she did that with everyone…"

"That'd be the least of our worries," the archen deadpanned. "Let's just go inside."

Heading inside, Damien followed Acro closely. They went up a flight of stairs, strafing around tables and chairs before approaching the only other pokémon in the room.

A typhlosion held something to his ear, concentrating on whatever he was hearing. "...Still nothing… Alright. Please let me know when you see anything… Heh, yeah. See you around."

The fire-type pressed a button on the object, sighing. He looked up to the feraligatr next to him. "She's getting there, alright."

"Yeah, I can tell…" Feraligatr rolled his eyes, catching sight of the newcomers. "Hey, Acro. Who are your new buddies there?"

_Buddies?_ Damien wondered, turning his head and nearly jumping out of his skin upon seeing Aubree next to him.

"Jeez!" he hissed. "Where _were_ you?"

"Mister Gulpin doesn't have any orange gummi smoothies," the fighting-type whined.

“Don’t run off like that again,” Damien reprimanded, bumping his tail into her. “Remember what Goomy taught us?”

“Oh _yeah_…”

Acro cleared his throat, grabbing the duo's attention. "President Rocard, these two are Damien and Aubree."

The typhlosion stuffed away his badge, eyeing Damien in particular. "Good to meet you two. Acro, haven't I said you can just call me Rocard?"

"Er, well…"

Rocard stood up and approached Damien, towering over him. The fire-type knelt down and analyzed him.

"So you're the human Acro mentioned," he observed.

Damien's feet went cold. He glared at the archen. "_Why_."

"I-It was _important_, okay?!" Acro defended, shielding himself with his feathers.

"Heh."

The pikachu shot Rocard a look. "What's so funny?"

"We're _screwed_." Rocard glanced at the feraligatr. "Lockjaw, you can still get to that cave, right?"

Lockjaw nodded, grimacing. "Yeah. I know what to do."

"Huh? Why are you two acting like it's the end of the world?" Acro asked.

Rocard gazed at Damien for a long while. "If there's anything I've learned from this pattern… You better not give up 'til the very end."

Damien raised an eyebrow, then another. "_Me_? What’s so special about being a human?”

“I’m sure you’ll find out,” the fire-type stated, his smile vanishing. He exhaled through his nostrils, taking a peek at Lockjaw again. “Dammit… What’ll I say to her?”

Acro raised a wing, holding a shaky smile. “H-How about we discuss our plan now?”

“What pattern were you talking about, Rocard?” Damien interrogated, crossing his arms.

The typhlosion sighed, sitting back down in his seat. “Have a seat.”

“Fine.”

Damien pulled out a chair and hopped onto it, with Aubree joining him shortly after.

“Let’s see…” Rocard counted up with his digits. “So this is the fourth time a human needs to save the world. Right, Lockjaw?”

“Seems about right,” Lockjaw replied, “though I don’t believe the whole time-traveller story. Where even _is_ this Temporal Tower?”

“_Regardless_,” the typhlosion continued, “we need to be prepared for the worst. That’s how it usually goes with these events. Damien, when push comes to shove, you better make sure you complete your mission.”

The electric-type furrowed his brow. “...What mission?”

“That’s something you’ll figure out.” Rocard looked down at the table with a sigh. “...I _hope_. I didn’t know what I needed to do until mere weeks before the meteor was said to hit here.”

Damien gazed at the fire-type, his eyes slowly widening. “...Were you a human, too?”

Rocard leaned back in his chair. With an exhale, he responded, “Yeah.”

The room went silent. This revelation brought forth several questions in Damien’s mind, all of which could require hours to answer.

“What happened when you completed that mission?”

Surprisingly, the question came from Aubree’s mouth. Damien glanced at her, noticing her distraught expression.

“...I don’t want to talk about it.”

Aubree put her paws on the table, staring at the typhlosion with a determined expression. “_Please_, just tell me!”

Lockjaw glared at her. “He said he doesn’t want to talk about it! A lot of his personal life was on the line, and at the end of the day, we don’t know if what happened after our mission will be the same for you and Damien.”

Elbowing the riolu, Damien shook his head. “Just let it go. There isn’t anything we can do about that.”

She looked to the electric-type vindictively before calming down. “A-Alright.”

“Now, do you have any other questions?”

Damien raised a paw to speak, but a distant thud cut short his thoughts. He glanced around, as did the others.

“...What was that?”

Rocard stood up, gesturing the group to follow him. “Come on. Let’s check it out.”


	11. Day 11: Snow

The world around me spun. I hadn’t thought of the vertigo that would arise from entering that magnagate. My stomach churned with my surroundings, making me feel fortunate I hadn’t eaten breakfast this morning…

“Whee-hee-hee…” I heard Kurtis mumble. “So many circles…”

"So this is everyone's first time through a magnagate?" Virizion observed.

I clutched my head, forcing it to stay still. There was something about the magnagate's rings that I found familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. "I suppose so… Is it _usually_ like this?"

As my vision steadied, I noticed Virizion stifling a chuckle. She looked to me, saying, "Only the first couple of times. You get used to it."

"Miss Virizion, I don't feel so well…" Dunsparce moaned, writhing on his back. He lifted his head. "...Where are we?"

"I'm not entirely sure, myself," the fighting-type admitted. "We seem to be close to the Great Glacier, however. This path looks like it will lead us there."

"How do you know that?" I asked, looking forward. "This is a _cave_. We could be anywhere right now."

"Look up."

Doing as such, I noticed a great mountain looming before us. The upper half was filled with nothing but snow - much like the mountains we saw from Post Town.

We weren't standing in a cave; rather, we stood in _front_ of one.

"Ah," was all I could muster.

"In any case, we should move before night falls," Virizion ushered. She prodded Kurtis. "Come along."

"Pfftch, _stop_, that tickles!" The axew shot up, taking one glance at the cave path and nodding. "Okay, let's go! C'mon, Alex, you lead!"

_Could you quit calling me Alex_? I wanted to say, but I kept that under wraps. It didn't seem like that was going to change anytime soon.

Taking the lead, I waved everyone to follow behind me, and we ventured into the cave. The path soon branched off into many, and I had to hold off a sigh. _Everywhere seems to be a mystery dungeon, apparently._

* * *

Our trip through the mystery dungeon, all things considered, was uneventful. We had all grown significantly since creating our team - even Dunsparce, who used to struggle in keeping up with us, did his part in plowing through any opposing pokémon. To be honest, I felt rather proud for him…

Nonetheless, we emerged from the other side of the cave to a wondrous sight: a thick blanket of snow covered all the eye could see, and the sky had grown foggier. Snowflakes sprinkled down to us, some of them grazing my snout.

“Wow…” Kurtis gawked at the display. “It’s so pretty! Hey, Alex, is this your first time seeing snow, too?”

I shook my head. “It’s not. I live in a place that has frequent snow, so I’m used to this sort of sight.”

“Oh,” the dragon-type muttered, glancing over at Dunsparce. “Is this _your_ first time being in snow?”

“Yeah! I’ve never been close to snow until now,” Dunsparce stated. He returned my gaze with a hopeful expression. “Hey, can we play around in the snow?”

“Be my guest,” I said, shrugging. “I’ll look for a potential path up ahead.”

“Aww, _c’mon_!” Kurtis complained. “Let’s play in the snow! I bet you can’t build the biggest snow fort!”

I sighed, looking to Virizion for advice.

“I can search for a path,” she told me, walking further ahead. “You three have fun, don’t stray too far.”

Wincing, I attempted to stutter out an objection, but the fighting-type had already gone out of earshot. I turned to the other two, exhaling. “Oh, _alright_. Let’s make it quick, though.”

“Yay!”

Kurtis went straight to digging up a bundle of snow. He pushed a pile together, patting it down, then repeating until he made a circular fort.

Meanwhile, Dunsparce simply made tunnels with his stinger, popping out onto the topmost layer and grinning. He then burrowed back into the snow, but he didn’t resurface this time.

I pushed together a ball of snow, rolling it along the ground to increase its size. When it reached just above half my height, I began working on another, smaller ball. My stubby arms weren’t suited to lifting something above my height, but my vines helped tremendously - although gripping the snowball with them was essentially like picking up something with only your thumbs…

“What are you making, Alex?” Kurtis inquired from his fort.

“A snowman, of course,” I responded, glancing to the axew. “I still need to make the head.”

“That doesn’t look like any snow ‘mon I’ve seen!” he said, tilting his head. “What’s it supposed to look like?”

“Snow_man_, not snow ‘mon,” I corrected, “and it’s meant to… Well, it’s meant to resemble a human, but nobody really tends to make these around my home.”

“Oh, cool!” Kurtis hopped over his fort and ran to me. “I’ll help you!”

I huffed, gesturing to my third snowball. “There’s no need.”

Putting it on the other two snowballs, I wiped my hands and put them by my hips. “See? They’re not hard to make. Now all we need is a few decorations… Hm… I doubt we have any carrots around…”

“Carrots?”

I deadpanned at the dragon-type. “Well, I suppose carrots don’t grow in this region… How about…”

Reaching into my bag, I pulled out a heal seed and pushed it into the topmost ball. I then took out two oran berries and placed them slightly above the seed to make eyes for the snowman. “That’ll do.”

A soft, but firm object hit my tail, jolting me. I looked to my tail and saw pieces of snow remaining, and I turned to glare at Kurtis. “Did you just hit me?”

“Uh, _no_! I saw that flying at you!”

A muffled giggle resounded from under the snow.

I smirked. “Dunsparce? Are you _sure_ you want to pick a snowball fight with _me_?”

Dunsparce’s short yelp told me all I needed to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late post this time. <strike>It's still _technically_ the 11th here, so I'm sure it's fine :P</strike>


	12. Day 12: Dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains spoilers for Gates to Infinity. Just be warned.

Alexander peered around another tree, shaking a little despite himself. His search for Munna still hadn't produced any results, and the shadowy forest didn't help with that.

He spotted a stick, picking it up and glancing to Kurtis. "Kurtis, you still have your dragon rage attack, correct?"

"Yeah?" the axew confirmed, cocking his head. "What does that have to do with that stick?"

"Light it up, please," Alexander requested, aiming the tip closer to his partner.

"Uh… _okayyy_?"

Kurtis opened his mouth, expelling the blue fire and lighting the stick. Alexander grinned, holding it ahead of himself.

“Marvelous.” He noticed the flame trickling down the twig, closer to his hands. “...Well, this _should_ help us find Munna better - at least for now.”

As they progressed further into the woods, Alexander heard his fair share of shuffling. He turned his head each time he heard the noise, expecting a wild pokémon to lunge out at them, but nothing confronted them. The lack of pokémon, coupled with the dark atmosphere, unsettled him more than if he had to fight a wild. At the very least, he still had Kurtis with him - what would he do if he were alone in this forest?

The thought brought a shiver to his spine. _Perhaps I shouldn’t be thinking about that… Munna needs my help. That requires the most attention right now._

"Oh! I see some rocks up ahead!"

Looking forward, Alexander spotted the rocks Kurtis mentioned. He quickly snuffed out the stick and cast it aside. _I recognize those rocks…_

"Indeed…" He leaned closer to the dragon-type, lowering his voice. "I believe this was where Hydreigon attacked Munna. Keep your voice down."

"Alright," Kurtis acknowledged, hunching over. "I hope we don't run into him…"

"So do I," the snivy admitted. "I don't think we could take him on. Why don't we check over—"

A pebble rolled along the floor, bringing the duo's attention to a rock to their right - and who could it be but Munna?

"M-Munna!" Kurtis exclaimed. Alongside Alexander, he rushed over to the psychic-type. "You're okay! Are you hurt? Here, let's get an oran—"

"N-No, I'm… I'm _fine_," Munna uttered, standing up a bit. "Hydreigon i-isn't _here_, is he?"

"By the looks of it, no," Alexander assured. "You'll be safe in Post Town—"

"No, I _won't_!" the pink pokémon snapped. Her breath hitched, and she returned to her meek self. "Sorry… I didn't mean to burst out like that, but Hydreigon… He knows where Post Town is. He'd have no trouble finding me there!"

Alexander furrowed his brow. "Shit… Where do you suggest, then?"

Lowering her head in thought, Munna hummed. "I think… Yeah, that's a good place… How about…"

The area lit up, nearly blinding the grass-type. When he could see again, Munna grinned at him and Kurtis. Purugly and Toxicroak stood behind her, glaring daggers at him.

"Wh-What…" Kurtis stuttered, huddling close to Alexander.

"You two will be coming with us!" Munna declared, the smile on her face widening like a cheshire cat.

Alexander whipped around, noting that the two of them were completely surrounded. Gigalith, excadrill, chandelure… _What is the meaning of _this_?_

"Get 'em, boys!" the psychic ordered.

The group approached Alexander and Kurtis, some punching their fists together or stomping on the ground. How were they to get out of this mess…

"Psst, Alex."

Alexander leaned into Kurtis, listening in on his whispers. "What?"

"Hit the chandelure first," the dragon suggested. "They're the ones lighting the room up. We'll escape if we knock their lights out!"

Despite his doubts about the plan, there really wasn't much choice.

In one fell swoop, the duo attacked the pair of chandelure, startling them into extinguishing their lights. A slew of complaints from the other aggressors followed, allowing Alexander to slip past them and dart off in a direction.

"Wh— _Hey_! They're getting away, dumbasses!"

The snivy didn't so much as peek back for a long while. As his breath ran out, he spared a glance behind him.

Kurtis was nowhere to be seen.

Alexander's eyes widened. "Kurtis? K-Kurtis, where are you? …_Kurtis_?"

His breathing shallowed. Had he still been human, his hands would have gone into a cold sweat. _Kurtis, where did you go? Don't leave me hanging… _Please_?_

But alas, the dragon had yet to show up. Alexander grabbed his wrist - or lack thereof - and took in a sharp breath.

_I'm alone. I'm alone, I'm alone, I'm _alone_._

The snivy felt tears trickle down. He sat next to a deposit box, holding his tail in front of him.

"Please don't leave, please…" He shuddered, tail trembling in his grasp. "C'mon, Kurtis, you cute dragon… Please just show up, tell me you're by my side, _anything_…"

"'Ey! Alex's just over there!"

Alexander's breath hitched. He peered around the box, seeing Toxicroak alongside a chandelure and gigalith.

_I gotta run._

He bolted in the opposite direction, not even bothering to wipe his tears beforehand. Before long, he found himself in a mystery dungeon. Pansear, gothorita, and druddigon attempted to block his way, but he didn't have the time to fight them.

The snivy blitzed through the dungeon before halting at the edge of a cliff. He glanced over the edge, seeing nothing but clouds - a surefire way to die.

Turning around, he spotted Toxicroak's troupe hot on his tail. No…

Alexander glanced both ways. _I… I _have_ to fight them. There's no other way!_

"Get ready to _die_, heh-_heh_!" Toxicroak taunted. He pointed a claw at the grass-type. "_Or_, you can make this easier on us by willingly surrendering?"

With a gulp, Alexander shuffled through his bag, pulling out an orb. _Whatever this is, please be useful!_

He shattered the orb, its effect taking the form of a light and spinning his opponents around. When the light faded, the three enemies wobbled, swirls in their eyes.

_A totter orb,_ he observed, relaxing just a bit. He pulled out a violent seed and tore into it. _Here— Here goes nothing…_


	13. Day 13: Ash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will contain spoilers for Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky. Just be warned.

As I reached the next layer of the cliff, my hands shook from the pain of climbing the rocky surface. This cliff had a lower section to it; whether it was carved out or had naturally formed, it was clear somebody once lived there. Barrels, a pool of water, even a long abandoned hay bed were spread around the room. This section also had a view of the outside.

I noticed a stairway leading upwards. Waiting for my partner, I pointed to the staircase. "Let's check this for any traps."

"Go on ahead," he told me, gazing outside. "...This could work as a temporary base, don't you think? We've got a large area to view over here, and there's a source of water here."

"Maybe," I said. Leaning against the wall, I eyed the stairs again. "We could get ambushed 

from above this cliff, though. I might need your help with fending off any potential wilds here."

He nodded, heading upstairs. After a bit of waiting - as well as scraping noises coming from the stairwell - my partner returned and gave me a look.

"All clear."

I followed him up and on top of the cliff. A wooden lid sat beside a pile of decayed leaves. Up ahead, I could see two rows of tents, each in varying sizes.

"So we found our way into a town," I muttered, readying my makeshift spear. "Be prepared for any corrupted pokémon."

"On it," my partner acknowledged.

We ventured into town, wary of every corner and every stone. There was no such thing as being too cautious in a place like this.

Every now and then, we'd find the occasional pokémon having already met the same fate as many others. A xatu, for instance, was frozen in a state of flight. A swellow and wurmple huddling together, a drowzee looking up into the sky.

I shivered. Even after seeing sights like these many times over, it still haunted me. _No planet should ever know what this is like…_

"Hold up."

I stopped on a dime, tightening my grip and looking around. "...I don't see anything."

"Someone's having trouble up ahead," my partner whispered. "Seems like they're dealing with a savage."

Trailing closely behind him, I followed him off the path and into some trees. I peeked through the thicket of leaves, spotting a corphish attempting to fight off a chatot.

"Bɐɔʞ oɟɟ!" The water-type exclaimed, blowing a few bubble beams at the avian. "Ɔɥɐʇoʇ, _dlǝɐsǝ_, ʎon ɥɐʌǝ ʇo qǝ ᴉu ʇɥǝɹǝ _soɯǝɥoʍ_, ɥǝʎ-ɥǝʎ!"

"I think he's still in denial over a corrupted friend," my friend stated, downcast. "I'll knock out that chatot. Come out when I do so."

“Alright…”

My body still tensed up, ready to assist my partner in case he had trouble dealing with the flying-type. That moment never came, leaving me to think about our plans from here on out. _There has to be some knowledge about those items around here…_

For a moment, my mind drew a blank. _What were the code names for them? I think they were… Ah, right. Perhaps this corphish would know where the other ‘bronzor’s keys’ are. I already know about the one in ‘Shadow Woods’, but that’s far from this place…_

The chatot fell to the ground and didn’t get back up. As I snuck out into the open, the corphish seemed to be guarding himself from my partner. Ever since encountering our ‘payapa plant’, I had made it a point to teach my partner to speak my language; while he had no issue understanding me, I couldn’t say the same about him. That wasn’t to say I didn’t know what he _meant_, however - being a trainer for several years gave me a general grasp on his mannerisms.

“Mɥɐ— ∀ _ɥnɯɐu_? Mɥɐʇ ɐɹǝ ʇɥǝʎ _poᴉuƃ_ ɥǝɹǝ?”

I tensed up, locking eyes with the corphish. Pointing to my partner, I said, “I’m with him.”

“Hǝ’s ʍᴉʇɥ ɯǝ,” my friend assured. “I ɔɐu ʇɹʎ ʇo ʇɹɐuslɐʇǝ ɟoɹ ʇɥǝ qoʇɥ oɟ ʎon, qnʇ dlǝɐsǝ ɔɐlɯ poʍu.”

Setting my spear aside, I sat down to show I wasn’t going to attack the water-type. The corphish relaxed his claws, glancing between the both of us. He mumbled something to me, prompting me to glance at Grovyle.

“‘Just keep your distance’,” he translated, flicking his wrist. “Do you want to ask him where a bronzor’s key could be?”

I nodded.

Grovyle turned to Corphish, keeping an eye on the still unconscious chatot. “Do ʎon ʞuoʍ ʍɥǝɹǝ ʇo ɟᴉup ɐ ʇᴉɯǝ ƃǝɐɹ?”

The sea creature flinched, muttering something to himself before addressing my partner.

“‘Fogbound Lake’?” he repeated in my tongue, glancing to me. “Haven’t we been there before?”

“Wasn’t that the one with the Groudon statue?” I pondered. “What could we have missed there?”

As Corphish rambled on, Grovyle’s eyes widened from whatever the water-type was spouting. “‘A gem was put into Groudon’s heart, lifting the fog. We traveled up Steam Cave and encountered a Groudon - but when we defeated it, it was an illusion put up by Uxie, the guardian of Fogbound Lake. The lake was beautiful, but at the center of it was a time gear. We vowed not to steal it or spread word of it, but recently, Uxie disappeared. I doubt you can really do anything about the planet’s paralysis, but I really hope Uxie doesn’t find out that I told you…’”

I rested my head on a knee, thinking over the testimony. “...Who’s ‘we’?”

Grovyle translated as such. After hearing what Corphish had to say, he added, “‘The guild members at Wigglytuff’s Guild, just up there. Chatot here… _was_ Wigglytuff’s right hand ‘mon, but aside from the two of us, the others were turned to stone. Not even Wigglytuff was spared… I don’t know why I survived, but I think I may be the only guild member left…’”

Looking up towards where the water-type pointed, I saw the ashy remains of a tent. _Damn… I really hope we succeed with this plan._


	14. Day 14: Overgrown

Slithering down the path to Estranged Forest, Lass checked behind herself to make sure Etcher and Wyatt weren't within her sight. She breathed a sigh of relief and continued onward.

On days like these, where she and the other students had time to themselves, the ekans preferred to spend time in her treehouse. It was rather childish for her to return to such a place after all these years, but she had a particularly soft spot for this treehouse.

The poison-type glanced around again. _Still nobody around. Good. How would I be able to _stand_ the others knowing about my hideout?_

She picked up her pace, veering off the path at the last second to avoid entering the dungeon. Lass dashed into the foliage, slipping through gaps in bushes and overgrown vines with ease; after all, this was the same path she had taken for so many years of her childhood.

After crossing a patch of poison ivy, she redirected herself to the left and stopped at a particular tree. She reached a low-hanging vine with her tail, pulling it closer to the ground. This specific vine had evenly-spaced notches, letting her climb up it by wrapping herself around it, then biting a higher segment and ascending onto the tree.

Latching onto a branch, Lass carefully maneuvered to the base of the tree. She entered the trunk, sliding down a chiseled spiral underneath the tree. At the bottom, she gazed into the wide space that accompanied her base. A small lantern lit the otherwise dark room with what seemed to be an undying flame.

She picked up the lantern with her tail and headed to her right. Many, many books remained untouched from a slanted bookcase - Lass recalled a time when she attempted to use the pile as a fort. The ekans shook her head, smiling despite herself. _I was _such_ an idiot back then… but I wonder how I was able to think up all those creative alternatives for these shabby items…_

With a glance to the other side, she analyzed the wall of paintings. They had been scratched up before she first found this place, but none of it hadn’t become unrecognizable. Among various pokémon, strange, two-legged creatures stood alongside them. Lass had never seen anything like it - they had many different hair colors or skin tones, as well as different pieces of cloth around them…

Approaching the paintings, they still had the same indecipherable language she remembered seeing before. _I’m sure Etcher would know what these paintings mean, being an artist and all… but that would mean I’d have to _bring_ these to him._

She made one more cursory glance around the treehouse - was it really a treehouse if it was _under_ a tree? - but one section stood out to her: a hole, roughly twice her size, hidden behind part of the pile of books.

Lass tilted her head. _Strange… I don’t remember seeing that there before. What else is in this place?_

The poison-type poked her head through the hole, bringing along the lantern. As she slithered into the next room, she heard some shuffling and froze. She slowly set the lantern down before venturing on, focusing more intently on the noises around her.

“Who are you?”

Halting, Lass felt her scales shiver. Was it just her, or did the room get a lot colder? “I don’t know, who are _you_?”

Something grazed her tail, causing her to whip around on reflex.

“Don’t try me,” the ekans hissed. “You’ve got some nerve to come up to me like that. You wanna get bitten?”

“I, well…” The voice cleared his throat. He hesitated for a moment, as if what he was about to say was too much for him. “I’m _lost_, okay? I know I was minding my own business in the canyon, but now I’m just in a dark room! That lantern has been my only source of light for— I dunno, _days_? _Weeks_? And for some reason, I just can’t pick it up!”

Lass backed up her head, furrowing her brow. “...Well, maybe we should get closer to the lantern so I can get a better look at you.”

“For what?”

“To see what kind of pokémon you are, obviously,” she stated. “Even _my_ eyesight’s limited in this part of the room, so I can barely tell where you are. Come on.”

The voice attempted to retort, but he could only conjure up a mere sigh. “Alright, _fine_. I just thought it’d be obvious.”

Heading back to the lantern, Lass waited for the mystery pokémon to show his face. She heard the voice choking on his words. “...What? I’m an ekans, as you can see.”

“I— But— You… _talk_?!”

Lass rolled her eyes. “Yes, as does basically every other pokémon on this planet. I’m sure you’re no exception.”

“But I’m—”

For a brief moment, the ekans could see something floating above the lantern. The best she could see was a veil of purple gas.

“I’m— I’m a human!” the creature claimed. “I-I shouldn’t be able to understand you! What the _hell_ was I doing to— Oh, for… _She_ did that, didn’t she?”

“...You’re not making a lick of sense,” Lass deadpanned. “Hey, could you lower yourself so I can see you better?”

“Wh— _Fine_, I _guess_…”

The ekans watched the creature sink to her level, showing himself as a gastly. He frowned. “Happy?”

“Yeah, that’s better.” Lass stared the ghost-type in the eyes. “So, Gastly, what’s this ‘human’ thing you speak of?”

“Gastly? I’m _not_ a—”

He spun around, attempting to look at himself from every angle. “Wh-What in the…”

Lass stared at him as if he had two heads. “Do you… need a moment?”

“Well, I—” Gastly bit his lip, a despondent look on his face. “...Y-Yeah, I think I need a moment.”

The ekans nodded, backing up and taking the lantern with her.

“Uh— Hold up!”

Turning around, she arched a brow. “What?”

“Can you keep… the lamp here?”

“...Fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <strike>you thought Day 7 was the only one that was going to feature the WiiWare games? me too.</strike>


	15. Day 15: Legend

Rocard did his best to stand tall in front of the lake. He looked to Lockjaw, seeing the indifference on his face. Despite this, he kept thinking the totodile would rather spend time anywhere else right now. 

_It wouldn't be the first time he's done that,_ he reasoned.

Although he knew Lockjaw wouldn't be interested in hearing this "Ninetales Legend" from a whiscash, Rocard found the prospect both intriguing… and terrifying. _So humans _did_ live on this planet at some point. Even if it's just a legend, I think I might have a clue as to what I need to do._

The cyndaquil furrowed his brow before gazing back into the lake. "...I don't think Whiscash is going to show up like this. Let's get onto those rocks."

Rolling his eyes, Lockjaw hopped across the stone platforms before Rocard had even set foot on the closest one. He sighed, trying to catch up with the totodile.

Up ahead, he saw the water ripple, giving way to Whiscash. The ground-type looked bigger than any whiscash he had seen!

Letting out a huge yawn, Whiscash glanced towards the duo. "Ah, Team Redemption. I don't think we've properly met. What brings you two here?"

As he reached the rock Lockjaw stood on, Rocard bowed to the larger water-type. "I'd like to hear of the Ninetales Legend… How did you know our team name?"

Whiscash let out a hearty laugh. "Little Ryder told me great things about you, Rocard! I heard you helped save ol' Brunswick's kid on Mount Steel - that's some good work right there!"

Rocard deflated, glancing at Lockjaw for a brief moment. "Er, thank you for the compliment. I'm not here for that, though."

"...Oh, right." The ground-type's smile faded, and he closed his eyes in thought. "The Ninetales Legend… Would you like to hear the whole story or just the abridged version? I know not everyone likes listening to an old coot prattle on for hours on end…"

"I'd like to hear the full version," the cyndaquil stated. He paused for a moment, thinking of how he could explain his reasoning without stating outright he was a human. "I, uh… have a _very_ keen interest in tales about humans."

Though Lockjaw glanced at him with an arched brow, Whiscash nodded as if it were nothing unusual. "I see. You two might want to get comfortable."

Whiscash suddenly dove into the water, splashing Rocard in the process. The fire-type shook himself dry with an annoyed huff.

Once the ground-type resurfaced, he placed a badge on the stone platform. "My mind just isn't what it used to be. I recorded everything I could onto this old thing - much like you, I was quite the topic around here, ho-ho!"

Rocard looked at the badge, admiring its silver sheen.

"Interested, eh?" Whiscash grinned. "My team used to be the strongest in Valosse!"

The cyndaquil tilted his head. "What was the name of said team?"

Suddenly, the water-type faltered. He glanced away, smiling sheepishly. "...Well, that's a story for a different time. Here, I'll start the recording."

He moved a whisker over the badge, pressing a few buttons until it gained a slight glow. "There it is. Go on, take a listen!"

Taking a seat, Rocard listened to Whiscash's voice through the badge…

"_Before I talk about the Ninetales Legend, I will first need to explain the importance of the humans here,_" the recording began. "_This will play a role in the legend, I assure you. Now then…_"

A brief pause left the area silent. "_In an era long, long before my birth, humans first arrived in this world. A large, strange machine took them there - it was unlike anything us pokémon had seen! These humans, unlike pokémon, consisted of one, singular species. However, this species varied greatly in appearance; their skin varied from white as the snow to dark as the night sky. Each human wore different pieces of cloth and carried various amounts of bags and boxes._

"_They also couldn't understand us. No matter how slowly we spoke or how large we wrote our sentences, the humans couldn't speak or write our language. Luckily, with these humans came other pokémon - and these pokémon could understand both us _and_ them!_

"_Slowly, humans became integrated into our society. They introduced new machinery and technology to us. This was… both a blessing and a curse. These humans had the ability to capture us with tiny spheres, which…_"

Rocard listened to the explanations of each device, hearing the way Whiscash spoke about them. It just felt… wrong, knowing that everyday appliances in Orre caused…

"_...but despite these advantages, the humans slowly dwindled. Perhaps they couldn't keep up with the chaos of mystery dungeons? Their strategic minds only went so far, and they didn't have the physical prowess that pokémon possessed._

"_This is where the Ninetales Legend begins: only a handful of humans remained. One human journeyed to Mount Freeze alongside his partner. He encountered the Sage of Frost, Ninetales, and pulled her tail. In a fit of rage, she attempted to curse this human…_"

The recording went quiet for a moment. "_...However, the human's partner, a gardevoir, took the brunt of the curse. Ninetales looked to see if the human would save his partner, but he had already fled._

"_Furious, Ninetales foretold a premonition: the human would one day be reborn as a pokémon, and the balance of the world will be upset… Thus ends this tale._"

Rocard furrowed his brow. _A gardevoir… Is this gardevoir the same one I've seen in my dreams?_

"Hm? You don't need to look so down," Whiscash assured to the cyndaquil. "It's just a legend!"

"Uh… I _suppose_," Rocard stated, shaking his head before bowing again. "Thank you for the tale."

Whiscash bowed back. "Of course!"

Looking to Lockjaw, Rocard nodded his head. "Alright. Let's go back."

As they left the lake, Rocard glanced back for just a moment before continuing onward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <strike>If you don't know who Brunswick is, he's the dugtrio that requests your help at Mount Steel.</strike>


	16. Day 16: Wild

"Now just stay right here while I talk to th' school."

Damien rolled his eyes, opting to stare out the window while Nuzleaf left. Unfortunately, the only window in this room didn't have a good view, but a sea of trees was more pleasing to look at than the interior of Nuzleaf's house.

Speaking of Nuzleaf… _I can't _believe_ he thought taking me to school would be a good idea. Do I really look _that_ young? Could've sworn I was much older as a human…_

He decided that staying cooped up in this tiny house would be too boring. Disobeying the single order Nuzleaf had given him, the pikachu waltzed outside to look around. Serene Village, as Nuzleaf called it, had several houses here and there.

While he had managed a glimpse of the village when following the grass-type, Damien felt an urge to see what this place had to offer. He crossed a tiny bridge towards a few of the other houses, checking behind himself to make sure nobody was around.

_...It's awfully… quiet here,_ he noticed. _If those beheeyem show up now… Yeesh, I can't imagine what I'd do._

The former human hunched over slightly, narrowing his eyes. He reached the edge of town without encountering a single pokémon, seeing a short, forested area ahead. _That's where Nuzleaf and I came from. Can't risk those beheeyem being on the other side… Huh?_

He turned to his left, spotting a rickety bridge leading to a long-dead tree. An old door stood within a hollow part of the tree, locked in place with a wooden bar.

_Why's it locked from the inside?_ he wondered, walking over the creaky bridge. _I could easily open it up here… Maybe it's meant to keep something… _in_?_

A board on the bridge squeaked behind him, causing him to whip around and charge a thundershock at whoever stood there. As he did so, he cut the attack short.

In front of him, a riolu laid on the ground, stunned. Damien went into a panic unsure if he had just killed an innocent citizen of the village--

"Hi there!"

Damien jumped back, letting out a somewhat girly yelp. So this riolu _was_ fine? "What the _hell_ were you sneaking up on me for?!"

Riolu grinned, hopping back onto her feet. "I saw you with Mister Nuzleaf earlier! Are you his kid? You're obviously new here! Are you from another town-- Oh, are you from _Lively Town_?! I heard Mister Nuzleaf was from the city and--"

"Just get to the point!" Damien growled, though his expression remained in a perpetual state of confusion. "Who are you? Why did you sneak up on me?"

_How did I not notice you?_ he wanted to add.

"Well, I'm Aubree!" she stated, puffing her chest. "And I make it a point to meet every new person in town! Now, what's your name?"

"I'm _not_ a _kid_…" Damien groaned. "And the name's…"

"Right, right, _anyways_, since you're new here, I just _have_ to show you everything around here!"

Aubree grabbed the pikachu by the paw before he could protest, and she tugged him back over the bridge. Despite his attempts at squirming out of her paw, she had an iron grip and just _wouldn't stop_.

"Ow-- Stop it-- Let _go_\-- _Fuck_\-- _Ow_!"

Damien tripped over an arching bridge - which led to the center of town by the looks of it - but the riolu ignored his complaints.

When they reached the center, Aubree finally let go of him, still wearing that dopey grin. "Here we are - the bazaar! How bizarre to have a bazaar… I bet a bazaar this bizarre needs a blue bizarre pokémon buying berries!"

_Please, just shut up…_ Damien internally moaned. He rubbed his arm, noting the frazzled patches of fur around his wrist - right where the fighting-type had grabbed him. _You're _bizarre_, alright…_

Aubree pulled him yet again, knocking him off of his feet. She marched over to a stand, eyeing the kecleon behind it.

"Two oran berries, please!" she proclaimed.

Damien saw the kecleon burying his face in his claws. "Aubree, for the last time, I can't give you any berries if you don't have the money for them."

"Oh, _alright_," Aubree groaned, pulling Damien away from the kecleon. "Mister _Lizard-Butt_ can play with us another time…"

"Let go of me, will you?" Damien tore his paw away from the riolu. "Jeez, your grip's so tight, it _hurts_! I can explore on my own, alright?"

"C'mon, _please_?"

The pikachu opened his mouth to object, but he faltered at Aubree's puppy eyes.

"Fff… Fine," he relented, "but don't pull me around like that."

Instantly, Aubree's eyes lit up. "Yay! Okay, so we got Kangaskhan's Café over there - they make the _best_ orange gummi smoothies - and right there's Hawlucha's… I forgot what he does, but whatever! You can swim in the lake over there, and--"

"_Aubree Hardshell_!"

Yelping, Aubree glanced around wildly for the source. When she located the voice, Damien turned with her to see a carracosta storming over to them.

"P-Pops!" the riolu exclaimed, her smile much more forced now. "He-Hey, Pops! I was just, uh, showing the new kid around--"

"Did you sneak into my garden and eat my oran berry plants _again_?" Carracosta interjected, leaning towards her accusingly.

"Nope!" she denied, frowning.

"_Did_ you?"

"Nuh-_uh_!"

Carracosta placed a flipper over his head and sighed. "I want the _truth_ from you, child!"

"Yeah, I did," Aubree claimed, her attitude suddenly cheery once more. "They were _delicious_! You make the _best_ orans, Pops!"

Damien nearly fell over. _What the hell is she on?_

"Delicious or not, they're not _ripe_ yet," the water-type scolded. "You could've gotten _sick_! Now come along, Aubree. I'll think of a suitable punishment when we get--"

"Yeah, about that… I gotta go!"

Aubree dashed off, and after a moment's pause, Carracosta chased after her. "Get _back_ here!"

Damien sagged his shoulders. _What a… _wild_ kid._


	17. Day 17: Ornament

Alexander formed a rectangle with his fingers as if he were looking through a camera. The trees of Inflora Forest had a particular shade of orange he admired, which made him yearn for an actual camera. As it was, however, he had to rely on his memory for now.

Their second adventure through Inflora Forest, without the stress of requiring to save Swadloon or anyone else, instead consisted of taking in the late autumn atmosphere and smelling the roses - in both senses of the phrase.

"Oh, I found the right path already," Kurtis called from a patch of red flowers. "What kinds of flowers are these?"

Catching up with the axew, Alexander glanced at the red plants. "I believe those are sumacs. This forest is simply stunning, isn't it? I wish I could take a photograph of this place, you know? It's a shame this place doesn't appear to have any evergreen trees…"

"Uh…" The dragon looked around the various deciduous plants. "Why would you want an evergreen tree?"

Alexander gestured to a tree with particularly yellow leaves. "I just think it would be nice to celebrate Christmas with everyone at Paradise. A deciduous tree would lose its leaves long before then, making it look rather… _dead_ during that holiday."

"What's Christmas?"

The grass-type blinked. "...I suppose that isn't a holiday around these parts. Christmas, at least for my family, is a time of giving gifts to loved ones or close friends. Some see it as a time dedicated to their religion, which… Er, that isn't relevant to the matter at hand."

"...Oh!" Kurtis grinned at the snivy. "That sounds like that one holiday in Post Town! I remember Cinccino calling it Gifting Day!"

Alexander nodded, smiling back. "Interesting… It's a good thing we won't need to explain Christmas to our teammates, then."

"What do you mean?"

He winced. "I don't think we ever told them I was a human."

"Oh, right…"

Kurtis grabbed Alexander's claws, gazing at the snivy with a giddy expression. "Why don't we tell them, then? I'm sure they trust you enough to believe you!"

Choking on his words, Alexander tried to let go… but he found himself unable to do so. "W-Well, I don't know about _that_…"

"I trust you," the axew stated, a warm smile rising up his mouth. "If _I_ can trust you, there's no doubt Dunsparce, Emolga, Virizion… even Umbreon and Espeon would be okay with you being a human!"

The grass-type felt his face flush. "...A-Alright."

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" Kurtis let go, leading Alexander to the exit path. "I bet Emolga's gonna look _so_ shocked!"

"Heh, I bet…"

* * *

As Christmas - or, as Post Town called it, Gifting Day - rolled around, Alexander viewed the Great Glacier in the distance. In only a few days, the team would be using Umbreon and Espeon's magnagate to travel there.

This journey brought up a sense of excitement… as well as a certain conundrum. _Only four of us can go… I'm most certainly coming along, as I'm the team leader. Kurtis always wants to go wherever I go, Virizion has expressed her insistence on joining…_

_So that only leaves Emolga and Dunsparce._ Alexander glanced down, furrowing his brow. _Both are equally excited to explore the Glacier… but since only four of us can take the magnagate at once, one of them has to stay behind…_

He gripped the grass beneath him tighter. _Why couldn't the limit have been _five_ just this once?_

"You still thinking about Emolga and Dunsparce?"

Alexander's eyes snapped open. He turned to Kurtis, seeing that the axew had sat down next to him already. "Yes…"

The dragon offered a reassuring smile. "We'll figure out what we'll do. I'm sure we can bring something back for either of them to enjoy - that way they don't miss out on _all_ of it."

"I suppose you're right," Alexander admitted. He chuckled, looking away. "You certainly know what the team needs better than I do. Why aren't _you_ team leader instead?"

Kurtis tilted his head. "I thought I already told you why?"

"Hm?" The grass-type arched a brow. "I must have missed it."

"My reason for having you be team leader is… Well…" Kurtis scratched the back of his head - was there a hint of red on his scales? "You're very strategic, you know? You have a great grasp on dungeon exploring and item management, and you know the perfect time to use an oran or a blast seed… That's something a leader should know how to do, I think."

Alexander looked into the axew's eyes. "But _you_ are the one who keeps the team together at all costs, _you_ help defuse arguments between us, and _you_ can lift just about everyone's mood! I say those skills are just as important as a team leader!"

With a small laugh, Kurtis gazed into the distance. "I guess you're right about that… Maybe that's why we're such a good team?"

"Perhaps…" Alexander agreed. He went back to staring at the Great Glacier.

Kurtis remained silent for a while. When he turned his head back to the snivy, he let out a hum.

"Hey, Alex?" he began. "I _really_ liked that ornament you gave me. I didn't have any good ideas for a present to give you, though…"

"That's fine," the snivy assured with a smile. "Not everyone can give someone a present in time."

Glancing away briefly, the blush on Kurtis' face became more visible. "But… I, uh, think I can give you _something_…"

"...Well, what is it, then?"

Before he knew it, Kurtis pressed his lips against Alexander's, forming a kiss.

Though not without spending a brief moment in shock, Alexander returned the kiss with a moan.

As they parted, the snivy blushed furiously at the axew. "Did— Did you just—"

"Yeah," Kurtis said, grinning. "Did you like it?"

"I-I— Uh…"

Alexander leaned in for another kiss, this time catching Kurtis off guard.

Pulling away one last time, he muttered, "Y-Yes, I did."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <strike>Before you ask, _yes_, they're legal. And roughly the same age.</strike>


	18. Day 18: Misfit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains spoilers for Super Mystery Dungeon. Just be warned.

_Okay, okay, is this thing on? Let's see, 'Rec'... I _think_ that means it's recording? Ah, whatever, I'm just gonna talk!_

_So, video diary, it's time I introduce myself. I'm Aubree Hardshell— _Yes_, I _know_, diary, 'Hardshell' doesn't fit a riolu like me, but Pops found me when I was an itty-bitty kit - he's a carracosta, by the way._

_At the time I'm recording, we're about to head for Fire Island Volcano - the _perfect_ place for a picnic! There's gonna be a team of lapras, and everyone's gonna be coming along— Well, except Jirachi, but he's a sleepyhead anyways. Unlike Damien, Jirachi tends to, uh… get a little feisty when I wake him up. So I'm not dealing with that!_

_Damien's in the dining room helping Swirlix cook. I think he's getting along pretty well with Swirls! Even better, he hasn't snuck into the pantry since Damien and I joined! Jay and Acro get _so_ jealous around Damien and Puffers - I mean, they both cook really, _really_ well! I'd be jealous too, but I could never be jealous around Damien!_

_...Okay, he's _kinda_ quiet and doesn't really care much about anything, but he's the _best_ dungeon explorer! Plus, he's the first real friend I made back in school, so…_

_What's that, diary? You wanna know about the school? And about Acro and Jay and Puffers? Of _course_ you do!_

_At the Expedition Society, we've got Acro the archen, Jay the buizel, Puffers the swirlix, Antoine the dedenne, Maya the mawile, Jirachi, and Chief Ampharos… Whew, that was a lot… to say in one sentence…_

_...N-No, diary, I'm _fine_, just lemme get my breath back… Okay…_

_So, Acro tends to be a downer - a lot - but he's strong! I think he's almost as strong as the Chief!_

_Jay is pretty… cocky? Impatient? But hey, he's kinda like me! Just like me, he can't wait to battle the next opponent - and he's got a few tricks up his sleeve!_

_Puffers, as I mentioned, is the Society's main cook. He's got _quite_ the appetite, though… Maybe that's why he cooks a lot more for himself than the rest of us? Damien adds in a few dishes - I could've _sworn_ he used Pops' recipes… But Puffers' dishes are nice too._

_Antoine - I like to call her Antenne - made the very gadget I'm using to make this diary! She's _really_ good with electronics! I wish I knew how she made that stuff work…_

_I haven't talked much to Maya, but Damien has; she knows a lot about this world's history and archaeology… I dunno about half the things she says, but she's nice enough! I heard from the other members that she helped get Chief to where he is now. How nice of her!_

_Jirachi's our astronomer. Jay told us that our 'initiation' was to wake Jirachi up… Apparently, everybody takes turns waking him up. Something about him taking thousand-year naps… I dunno about that - he doesn't look at all sleepy! After he's woken up, of course…_

_Chief… Well, _obviously_, he's the head of the Society! I like it when he just roams around - he bumps into _everything_! It's hilarious! I dunno why he closes his eyes when he's exploring the town, but Maya says it had something to do with his mind being a little wonky… He's a fun pokémon to be around, though! I'm sure he's fine!_

_…Oh, that's _right_! I never talked about Damien properly! That's like— How could I forget that?_

_Damien's really… uh, quiet. He's not very open about a lot of things, but he's the _bestest_ friend I could ever have! He listens to me rambling on and on - and I know he's _actually_ listening because he responds with something related to what I said to him! He's not someone who attempts to stop me from doing something - let alone _actually_ stopping me - but he suggests things I never even consider before I do that thing!_

_He's very thoughtful and smart and strong and… Um…_

_H-Hey, diary? Can you keep a secret? Right, of _course_ you can, I just, uh…_

_I… _really like_ Damien. Not as in we're best buds, but more like… I-I dunno how to explain it. He means everything to me. I— Um— I just… don't know if he likes me like that, though…_

_Everybody's doing their best here, but I don't know who I could tell this to… _Definitely_ not Damien… At least not _yet_. Maybe Antenne? Maya? Okay, Maya might be a bit of a stretch, but…_

_Oh, what should I do, diary?_

_...Maybe I shouldn't be asking a silly question like that. I mean, who would believe me? Not Pops or Damien or any of my classmates or the Society members… I'm sure they all see me as a misfit and nothing else. Maybe Damien… No, I dunno about that…_

_Sure, maybe I eat entire oran berry plants and explore Lombre's pond and cause a ruckus in the school… B-But that doesn't mean I can't be serious every now and then! Like the time Damien went alone to save Budew, or when Pancham and Shelmet got kidnapped by… gh-ghosts… P-Point is! I care about everyone! I want to help as many pokémon as I can!_

_That's why I joined the Expedition Society! To make a positive difference!_

_I hope Pops would understand…_

_Huh? What does… 'Storage almost full' mea—_

* * *

Damien lowered his gadget, heaving a sigh. He looked to the other bed, hoping that he'd see Aubree there again, but those hopes were crushed each time.

"Why did it have to be you?"

The pikachu tore out Aubree's connection orb from his gadget and threw it onto the straw bed. "Why did you have to _go_?!"

His arms slacked, tears welling. He sniffed and wiped his eyes before curling up.

"_I_ was supposed to disappear, Aubree…" he whispered, voice cracking. "I thought we agreed on that!"

He couldn't do anything about this, however. _Why did you have to leave me?_


	19. Day 19: Sling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will contain spoilers for the Explorers games. Just be warned.

I hate it whenever Grovyle gets himself hurt.

As a trainer, I'm supposed to expect him to get injured in some manner. Trainers are meant to win in spite of these injuries. My issue isn't with that, however…

Grovyle, despite his calm exterior, can become… _overprotective_ of me. Every time we explore these strange "mystery dungeons," he guards me with his life. Even though I've started bringing a wooden spear along to protect myself, he usually prioritizes immediate dangers to _me_ over himself.

Normally, I'd commend him for his protectiveness… but more often than not, he unnecessarily puts himself in tight spots, all while he insists he does all the fighting.

This all came to a head as of late; in fending off a wild swellow, he had sprained his left arm. Dislocated shoulder, scratches all over his arm, the works.

With this particularly bad injury, I set out to make a cast for him - after I fixed up his shoulder, of course. I denied each and every protest he threw at me, like how dangerous these mystery dungeons were.

I always responded with, "If you can't protect me, I have to protect myself."

Now, I knew he and I were both _extremely_ stubborn with our beliefs. We inevitably ended up in a stalemate, and I snuffed out the campfire in an attempt for him to get some rest.

As for me? I laid there, wide awake. Our trips through these mystery dungeons - aside from doing harm to our lifespan - let us obtain a variety of seeds, bands, orbs and scarfs. They certainly weren't there just for show, however; some kinds of seeds caused a fiery explosion when thrown, others put you to sleep, and others cured status ailments.

One band we obtained in our escape from the Hidden Land had orange polka dots over a yellow backdrop. It slowed down anyone's hunger rates when equipped. Considering how famished I always ended up being after going through a dungeon, this band helped _tremendously_.

When I figured Grovyle was fast asleep, I slowly got up and headed into the woods. There had to be some useful berries around here…

My journey came to a halt, realizing that I had already ended up in a mystery dungeon. On the bright side, I encountered a pair of oran berries in the first room - orans seemed a lot more powerful than in my ancestors' old home, so seeing two in one place meant great things. I picked these up and continued onward.

The rest of this dungeon… wasn't so easy. I found myself encountering kirlia and kadabra more often than not. The occasional ninetales showed up, too; I wasn't about to risk touching one of their tails.

For most of these encounters, I could simply run away and look for the stairs elsewhere. However, this sometimes wasn't an option.

On the nineteenth floor, for example - I must've lost track… - a pair of houndoom cornered me. I fished out an orb and threw it at them, hoping that something good would happen…

And it did. The houndoom slumped to the ground, fast asleep. I squeezed past them with ease, heading right for the stairs.

_I wish I were a pokémon for this…_ I lamented. _I'd be able to deal proper hits to these wilds, and I wouldn't need Grovyle to translate everything for me. Like _that's_ gonna happen, though…_

After traversing through a few more floors, the area opened up. I found a pattern on the ground, as well as… some sort of cog. It had long since grayed out, much like every other place here, but I could've sworn there was the faintest bit of blue.

I heard a shriek, followed by something pink floating past me. A sableye chased after it, but the dark-type stopped to grin at me.

Before it could speak, I reached into my bag and force-fed it a seed, paralyzing it on the spot. "_Fuck_ off, will you?"

Glancing to where the pink pokémon had rushed off, I followed after it. _If those sableye are chasing this pokémon, there's no doubt it's rebelling against Dialga - just like Grovyle and I._

The pink creature seemed to have disappeared, though. I sighed, slowing to a halt. _Guess I won't be able to talk to it… Huh?_

My gaze shifted to the ground. Next to one of the many trees, I noticed a pile of lum berries. Immediately, my eyes lit up. _Jackpot!_

As I reached down to pick up the berries, however, something slapped me upside the head. I fell to the ground, cursing under my breath before looking for the culprit.

The pink creature from before glared at me, guarding the lum berries with its tiny body.

I winced. Even if I couldn't understand the pokémon, I could tell that those berries belonged to it. How was I supposed to tell it Grovyle needed them to heal?

"Hey, my partner needs those…" I facepalmed. Like it could understand me! "Never mind. I have enough berries as it is."

Standing up, I turned around and fled from the pokémon. Grovyle was no doubt going to be _pissed_…

* * *

"What the _hell_ were you thinking?"

I sighed. _Yup. Exactly how I thought it was gonna go._

Grovyle sat up, clutching his left arm with a grunt. "You went through that entire dungeon _alone_. _Alone_! You could've gotten _killed_! My arm will heal, but death won’t do that!"

"And what good would you be if your arm was still injured for the next month?" I retorted.

"I still have energy ball!"

"We don't have a lot of elixirs!"

The grass-type hissed in pain, attempting to get up.

I took off my shirt and bundled it up around his arm. "Here. That's the best sling I can make right now. Have these berries."

Scowling, Grovyle reluctantly ate the oran berries I had found in the dungeon. "Don't do that again, alright?"

"Only if you don't injure yourself like this again."

Grovyle scoffed. "...No promises."


	20. Day 20: Tread

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains minor spoilers for Gates to Infinity. Just be warned.

Alexander barely managed to duck under the golurk's punch, causing him to slip onto the ground. Despite his exhaustion, he used what little strength he had left in his arms to whip up a leaf tornado. While slow and wobbly, it hit the golurk dead on.

He turned to Kurtis, letting him take the next move. "I think that assurance attack of yours should work. You said it was a ghost-type, correct?"

"Uh-huh," the axew huffed. He summoned a dark energy in his claws before striking the golurk. When it bent over with its eyes fizzling out, Kurtis turned back to Alexander. "_And_ a ground-type. I think that… that leaf tornado did the trick."

Glancing towards Dunsparce, the snivy found him to still be struggling with the last cryogonal. He heard something roll across the ground, followed by said cryogonal slamming into the wall behind the golurk.

_Perfect,_ Alexander noted. _Looks like that one's down for the count._

Virizion raced in front of the other grass-type, bracing herself. "Neither of you can withstand another hit. Alexander, you better take down this golurk next turn, or so help me—"

Before Alexander could protest, the golurk whacked Virizion with another shadow punch, knocking her to the ground.

"Miss Virizion!" Dunsparce called out from behind the ghost-type. He looked up at it with the best glare he could muster. "H-Hey, _look_ at me!"

Slowly, the golurk turned around. Although the normal-type faltered under its massive height, this provided an opening for Alexander and Kurtis.

"Now!" Alexander hissed. He lashed out at the golurk with a vine, whipping it right on its back.

Kurtis struck the same spot with another assurance, sending the golurk toppling over… threatening to squish Dunsparce!

"Over here, between the legs!" the snivy ordered.

Dunsparce, instead, drilled into the crystalline ground. As the golurk landed, he popped out in front of the grass-type, trembling.

"Th-That was— That was too _close_!" he uttered, looking between Alexander and the other two. With a yelp, he rushed over to Virizion. "M-Miss Virizion! Are you okay?"

Making his way over to the fighting-type, Alexander checked her pulse out of habit. If this were another human, he would definitely call an ambulance… but as he'd seen time and time again, a shadowy punch like that could only knock out a pokémon at worst.

Still, he sighed in relief upon feeling a steady pulse. "She's fine. She might need a bit of rest, though."

"Hey! Over here!"

Alexander glanced up, spotting Espeon and Umbreon just ahead. "_There_ you are! I thought you two had fallen behind again!"

They trotted to the rest of the group, Umbreon bowing in apologies. "Whoever's guarding these parts, they have a _crapton_ of cryogonal buddies. We managed to take down several of them before that golurk showed up…"

He let out a strangled breath. "We were already pretty beat at that point, so we had no choice but to hide. It looks like you got the rest of them…"

"Oh, don't be so sour, Umbry," Espeon chided with a snicker. Facing Alexander, she added, "That's just his way of thanking you. Isn't that _right_, Umbry?"

"Er, yeah." The dark-type's ears fell forward, a nervous smile creeping up on his face. "Y-Yeah, I was _going_ to say that…"

"Uh-huh. _Suuure_…" Espeon stuck out her tongue in a playful manner, much to Umbreon's annoyance.

Peering over them, Alexander pointed to the hall up ahead. "That must be the hall that the speaker in that frism mentioned."

Kurtis tilted his head. "Oh, I remember that… Are you sure this is the one, though?"

"We _do_ seem to be at the end of this dungeon," Umbreon added. "What did that frism tell you?"

"Hm? You didn't listen to it?"

Recollection flashed in Alexander's mind. "...Ah, right. You weren't with us then. I suppose I could inform you about it."

As he explained the contents of the frism - along with Kurtis joining in every now and then - Virizion slowly came to her senses. She got to her feet, shaking herself.

"Thank goodness!" Dunsparce exclaimed. "You're okay, Miss Virizion!"

Virizion winced, leaning down to send the normal-type a stern look. "I would appreciate it if you toned down your voice a bit. My head is still feeling that punch…"

"Oh, s-sorry!"

She glanced at the group, then smiled at Dunsparce. "Don't worry about it."

Kurtis tapped Alexander's shoulder, gesturing to the recently awakened fighting-type. "Virizion's awake!"

The snivy nodded, pulling out an oran. "Virizion, catch."

He threw the berry, and it landed straight in Virizion's mouth. A satisfactory grin graced his face.

"So, why don't we tread onward?"

With a unanimous agreement, the team headed down the hall.

* * *

Several minutes passed. The hallway seemed to go on forever, but Alexander noticed his teammates had slowed down. He turned his head, seeing Kurtis' shut eyes, Virizion's hardened, but weary expression, and Dunsparce's dragging tail. Even Umbreon and Espeon had trouble walking in a straight line, the two of them leaning against each other while heavily breathing.

_I seem to be the only one here that doesn't feel the least bit tired,_ Alexander observed. _How strange… That speaker mentioned something similar, did he not?_

He heard a soft thud, bringing his attention to Espeon. "Are you alright, Espeon?"

Soon after, Virizion and Dunsparce slumped over, only increasing the snivy's concern.

"Dunsparce? Virizion?" he called out, stopping in his tracks. "What's going on with everyone?"

Kurtis opened one eye, opening his mouth to say something… only to fall over, his breath escaping from the impact.

"Not you, _too_…" Alexander searched through his bag before his heart sank. He had unwittingly used the last oran berry on Virizion just minutes earlier! "Drat…"

_That speaker said his mate was struggling to breathe,_ he recalled upon seeing Umbreon's collapse. _Dammit… I have to take everyone _back_!_

A haunting roar bellowed from behind. Alexander turned around, spotting a gigantic ice dragon leering down at him.

His tail dropped. "Oh… sh-_shit_…"


	21. Day 21: Treasure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers??? For the WiiWare games???? Be warned?????
> 
> <strike>Ah, who am I kidding. There isn't much of a story for the WiiWare games. I guess I'm the only guy who's actually giving a crap about making a story for them...</strike>

Wyatt held up his ear-arms, creating a safeguard for his team. Although he had ventured into this valley before, he didn't expect the strength of the wild pokémon here. Perhaps it had to do with his first time being a lone endeavor…

Regardless, he predicted his safeguard well, as the opposing gloom launched an otherwise problematic stun spore. The wynaut smirked. "Get 'em, Lassie."

Lass sent him an unamused look before lunging at the gloom with a bite. The opponent barely withstood the hit - despite her newfound power as an arbok - but Etcher blasted it with a thundershock, knocking it out.

The flaaffy grinned, smacking his fists together. "Thanks for getting Shuckle to tell us where that luminous stone was. I swear, if I had to make _one more map_ as a mareep…"

"Eh, no problem," Wyatt replied, waving an ear. "I thought it'd be a good enough reward for helping out in that feast. After all that enchanted business, we deserve it, don't ya' think?"

"Yeah…" Etcher glanced at Wyatt with a concerned expression. "That reminds me… Why didn't you choose to evolve at the luminous stone like we did?"

With a shake of his head, the wynaut chuckled. "If I'm gonna make it into the construction biz, I gotta be able to communicate with everybody. The majority of wobbuffet can only speak their species' name for whatever reason; while I'd understand them just fine, you two wouldn't in the _slightest_."

He watched the other two choke on their breath and let out a guffaw. "I'm _kidding_! Sorry, couldn't resist. The real reason is that I want to squeeze through tight spots. I'm sure I'll get a partner or two to help me do the heavy lifting."

"But then why does every wobbuffet I see scream out their name?" Lass inquired.

"Oh, that's easy." Wyatt sped up in front of the two, turning around to face them. "It's a species-wide joke among us. I think it was based on a stereotype of us, so one genius decided to take it up a notch… Then everybody else followed suit, and—"

The wynaut stumbled over a pebble, falling onto his back and hearing Lass stifle a chuckle. Without missing a beat, he stood back up and let out a hearty laugh. "Well, I suppose you get the gist."

Etcher rolled his eyes and returned his gaze to the front - then skidded to a halt. His eyes widened, slowly looking further and further upward.

"Yo, Etch, whatsa' matta'?" Wyatt asked, turning around… and his mouth hung open. "Damn…"

Treasure Mountain stood tall before them, its outline taking on a golden hue thanks to the sun. While the mountain itself wasn't a mystery dungeon, the valley path that led to it was as such. Even though Wyatt had seen this view before, it still amazed him.

Perhaps the reason for this site being impressive was the lack of safe routes; Treasure Mountain was surrounded on all sides by a trio of mystery dungeons: a river cascading from the mountain, a nearby mountain, and the valley they just went through. Maybe the mountain itself was the reward for persevering through one of these dungeons?

"So," Lass began, "why don't we get to exploring?"

With a nod, Wyatt led the way.

* * *

Despite Treasure Mountain not being a dungeon in and of itself, its many winding caves gave the impression of such. In fact, other pokémon explored the mountain in search of treasure.

"This place has gotten a lot more attention than _I_ remember…" Wyatt mumbled. He turned to Etcher and Lass with a shrug. "I doubt we'll find any good items around here. Why don't we try the upper floors?"

"Uh, sure," Etcher responded, staring behind the arbok's hood.

Cocking his head, Wyatt cleared his throat to grab his friend's attention. "Etch. Buddy, you there?"

"Huh?" The flaaffy snapped his gaze back to the psychic-type. "Oh— Y-Yeah, let's take the upper floors. Should be less crowded."

Wyatt arched an eyebrow, but he turned around to lead them once again. _He's been giving Lassie those distant looks ever since they evolved. Is he…_

He hesitated in his next step. A wide smile creeped up, and he had to keep himself from laughing. _Oh my Arc, he _is_!_

As they continued up towards the summit, Wyatt kept sneaking glances at Lass, winking at her whenever she locked eyes with him. However, this seemed to confuse her more than anything else.

Wyatt grazed something by accident. Upon passing by, they had encountered another trio: a weavile, a drapion, and - surprisingly - another arbok.

"You're supposed to say 'excuse me'," Weavile stated, stopping in her tracks but not bothering to turn around.

"Huh? Oh, sorry about that," Wyatt apologized. "...Do I know you three from somewhere?"

"They _do_ seem oddly familiar," Etcher added, resting his chin on a paw. "I think I heard about that arbok in particular…”

Weavile sent them a sideways glance. She smirked upon seeing Lass. "I see you have good taste in teammates. Kase, I know what you're doing."

Kase, as she had called the arbok, immediately jolted. He shut his mouth, attempting to keep a straight face. "Uh, sorry, Mistress."

He approached Lass with a nervous smile. "You certainly have a strong tail, Miss! With such a fearsome pattern, I'm sure you're bound to do well in intimidation! Do you have anybody in mind to be your—"

Pulling Kase by the hood, Weavile sighed. "Don't mind him. Dart, come on."

"Of course, Mistress," the drapion obliged, trailing after her - but not before giving the other team a wink.

Wyatt turned around, sharing a bemused expression with Etcher. Lass had started blushing from the other arbok's comments.

Had Wyatt not been looking to her at that moment, he would've missed the glance she gave Etcher - the same kind that the flaaffy had been giving her earlier.

The wynaut internally grinned. _They _both_ want each other! Oh-ho, I know what _my_ plans are this week…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Did you know that Arbok and Ampharos can breed?


	22. Day 22: Ghost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains _major_ spoilers for Super Mystery Dungeon. Just be warned.

Damien reached the summit of the canyon, shivering from the unexpectedly chilly wind brushing against him. He looked ahead, seeing the xatu he had heard about, standing in silence at the edge. 

"Xatu," he called, approaching the avian. "What do you know about Mew?" 

He waited. And waited… The pikachu scowled, having yet to receive a response. 

"Answer me." 

Still nothing. Damien clenched his fists, his cheeks crackling with electricity. "_Answer_ me, dammit!" 

Just before he let loose a discharge, Xatu made an unearthly shriek. The piercing noise cut short the pikachu's attack. 

Turning around, Xatu sent him a disapproving look. "Ah, Damien. Impatient as ever, I see." 

"Quit the chit-chat and just tell me where Mew is," Damien growled. 

"Now, now," the psychic-type chided, "give me a moment. You _did_ just interrupt my daily gazing, you know." 

Damien's fur bristled. "I'm not joking here! Aubree is still out there, and—" 

"And you need Mew to get Aubree back, yes?" 

Stunned into silence, Damien leered at the avian to cover up for his shock. 

"Yes, of course," Xatu confirmed. He leaned forward, staring at the electric-type with one eye. "I am most _certainly_ aware of your situation: you're the latest human around here, your partner was the reincarnation of Mew, and said partner completed her mission, requiring her to return to being a part of Mew. I assume that's all true?" 

With a huff, Damien nodded. "Then why don't you tell me where Mew is right _now_?" 

"This is a matter of whether or not _you're_ ready to meet back up with her, Damien," Xatu responded, turning back around. "I cannot, in good conscience, guide someone to Mew so that they can 'beat the ever-loving shit' out of a piece of them. I am aware of your hesitance to trust others - and of your thirst for vengeance whenever one of them betrays you. 

"Deep down, I believe you _want_ to get back at Aubree - at _Mew_ \- for a plan that you had agreed to all those years ago." 

Damien glanced away, struggling to contain himself. "H-How do you _know_ all of this?" 

Chuckling, Xatu craned his head ever so slightly. "There's a reason I stare into the sun for weeks on end." 

He faced the pikachu once more. "If you truly want to see Mew - and by extension, Aubree - I must test you. Close your eyes." 

With a hesitant glare at the avian, Damien rubbed an arm. _I… I really want to see Aubree again… but… How much of that desire involves wanting to strangle her for leaving me?_

"I'm waiting." 

Damien let out a quiet expletive before closing his eyes. 

* * *

After a moment of complete silence, Damien opened his eyes… 

He was back in his bed. In Serene Village. 

"Oh, that _motherfucker_—" Damien held out his paws, imitating a stranglehold. "Of _course_ he'd send me back here. I don't wanna see that leaf-headed son of a bitch ever—" 

"_Damien_!" 

The pikachu nearly jumped out of his skin. Aubree stood next to him, puffing her cheeks. 

"Why do you have to talk about Nuzleaf like that?" she complained, crossing her arms. "He didn't do anything wrong!" 

His arms trembled. "A-Aubree? You're… _back_?" 

"You're acting pretty weird today, Damien…" The riolu looked at him in concern. "Are you _sure_ those ghosts didn't mess with you too much?" 

"I— Huh?" 

Damien clutched his head. "Didn't we get rid of Dark Matter for good? You disappeared instead of me! Nuzleaf _betrayed_ us!" 

"What's Dark Matter?" 

The pikachu's breath hitched. _What… the _hell_? How could she forget… all of that?_

"...Oh, I know!" Aubree exclaimed. "You must've had a big nightmare! I know I would _never_ leave you for anything!" 

This statement did little to ease Damien's actual reasons for his confusion. "But I— You were—" 

"C'mon, let's go play!" she interjected, pulling the pikachu along like she always did. "That'll get rid of _any_ nightmare, big or small!" 

Damien let himself get towed away, using this time to think. _Is this Xatu's little 'test'? What's my objective here?_

As they reached the hill overlooking the village, Aubree set him down and looked into the sky. _...What’s she doing _now_?_

For a few moments, she went silent. Then, she turned around with a downcast expression. 

"...Damien," she began, "there wasn't anything I could do." 

The pikachu's eyes widened. "What do you mean?" 

"All those years ago, I gave you a choice," Aubree continued, clasping her paws together. "When we saved the world, it would either be you or me who had to disappear… but I…" 

She shut her eyes. "...That wasn't entirely true. Because I'm a part of Mew, I could always return to them. But you… You, as a human… 

"...You don't have a body to return to." 

Damien felt a chill run down his spine. "I… I don't?" 

"No," the riolu stated. "Your body, at this point, is… well beneath the surface. Even if that weren't the case, that technically… isn't even your body anymore. Like me, you were reincarnated…" 

Tears ran down Aubree's face. Taking in a sharp breath, he continued, "I didn't want to upset you! I knew you would get really, _really_ upset if you knew I had to leave you when all of this was done!" 

She let out an ugly mixture of a laugh and a sob, wiping her eyes. "But I know now that keeping that from you for as long as I could would only make it worse… I'm— I'm _sorry_! I-I don't deserve to be your friend - not with the way I kept something like _that_ with you!" 

Damien couldn't help himself from shedding a few tears of his own. "N-No! I… _I_ should be the one… apologizing." 

Aubree quieted down, looking at him. "R-Really?" 

Choking out a strangled sob, he nodded. "I'm sorry I treated you the way I did! I-I—" 

The riolu rushed up to him, wrapping him in a big hug. Unable to stop the waterworks, Damien just let it out.


	23. Day 23: Ancient

Although they had clearly made it through Foggy Forest, Lorenzo still had to wade through the thick fog - much to his dismay.

"Emma, how are you holding up?" he called, not bothering to look around in an attempt to see her.

"I'm fine," the eevee responded. She let out a terse breath. "Could've sworn this rock wasn't as hot before we went through that dungeon…"

Lorenzo slowed down to let her catch up with him. Once he could see her at his side, he suggested, "Maybe I should hold it."

"And burn your skin?" Emma scoffed. "I'm having a hard enough time keeping a hold on it, and that's with my fur's protection, and you're…"

She sighed, handing the stone to him. "Yeah, okay. You still would've wanted it. Does this have to do with that whole vision thing?"

"Yes," the phanpy confirmed. He grasped the stone with his trunk… and let it go. "Damn, you weren't kidding when you said it was hot."

Waiting in silence for just a moment, Emma then cleared her throat. "So, uh… Is that vision coming in yet?"

Lorenzo furrowed his brow. "...No. It doesn't usually take this long…"

"Hey-_hey_! Finally, _someone_ shows up!"

Up ahead, Lorenzo spotted Corphish waving his pincers at them. The ground-type approached him, kicking the stone along.

"Oh, what's that, Lorenzo?" Corphish asked, gesturing to the stone. He tried to pick it up to take a closer look, only to drop it upon touching it. "Yeowch! Why's it scalding to the touch, hey-_hey_?"

"That's what we've been wondering," Emma stated. "Did you find anything odd around here? This fog doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon, so—"

"Why _yes_, I have!"

Leading them down the path, Corphish pointed towards a giant boulder. "Y'see this? I think there's a mystery with this thing, hey-_hey_!"

As they drew closer, the boulder turned out to be a statue of… some kind of pokémon. It had huge, sharp claws and a pattern of scales akin to a desert during a drought. Whatever pokémon it was meant to resemble, it towered over the three - even if the statue leaned to one side.

"Cool, ain't it?" Corphish commented. "I bet that this is a clue, hey-_hey_!"

Emma hummed, rubbing her snout with a paw. "Maybe… Let's look at it from every angle."

"On it," Lorenzo said, already walking around one end of the statue. He noticed some footprint runes on one side, stopping to investigate it. "I found some footprint runes. Emma, can you read this?"

"Magic _word_…" the eevee teased from behind the statue.

"..._Please_? You know I can't read this."

"Fine, fine."

Returning to the phanpy's side, Emma traced the top left of the paragraph of text. "'Reignite the light that burned within Groudon…'"

She looked to Lorenzo, making sure he was following along. "...'Then the sky shall blaze with the sun's heat—'"

"'The path to treasure shall be revealed.'"

Emma glanced at Lorenzo again, arching a brow. "I thought you said you couldn't read footprint runes."

"I did," Lorenzo clarified. He squinted his eyes at the text. "There was just something so… _familiar_ about that. Like I'd heard it before."

"Huh…" The eevee leaned into Lorenzo, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Maybe that's a clue to your memories… Oh, I know: touch that statue!"

Lorenzo stood there for a moment, processing the request. When he did so, he nodded. He grazed the ancient statue with a leg, then waited for a few seconds.

Emma furrowed her brow. "Still nothing?"

Right before he responded, the phanpy felt his vision blur. "Augh, _there_ it is…"

* * *

_"Ah-ha! There it is! You see it, don't you?"_

* * *

His vision returned to normal. Lorenzo glanced at Emma, thoroughly confused. "All I heard was a voice this time."

"What did it say, then?" she inquired, looking just as confused.

Lorenzo raised a hoof to speak, only to feel his sight blur once again. He fell to his side. _Again? Didn't I just _have_ one?_

* * *

_"This Drought Stone looks like it would fit in Groudon's 'heart'. Good thinking, partner!"_

_"˙ʇoɥ s,ʇɐɥʇ `lnɟǝɹɐƆ"_

_"...No shit."_

* * *

"Was that a _second_ vision?"

Lorenzo groaned, pushing himself back up. _Who was that other guy?_

He shook himself, then faced Emma once more. "Er… yeah. That second one had a lot more information."

The eevee perked her ears. "C'mon, tell me!"

"Magic word?"

Emma rolled her eyes, giving the phanpy the satisfaction he wanted. "_Please_."

"Alright!" Lorenzo marched to the front of the statue. "I believe we need to place the 'Drought Stone' in Groudon's heart. Do you know of any stone… like… that?"

He turned to the heated rock lying behind them, then deadpanned at Emma. "...One of us is gonna need to bring that up there."

"Oh, _great_…" Emma groaned. "At this point, my fur would burn off if I touched that."

"And I'd like my skin, thank you," Lorenzo added with a shiver. "If only we had some other way…"

Locking eyes with the normal-type, they nodded. Simultaneously, they called out, "Corphish!"

"Gah! Not so loud, hey-_hey_!"

Corphish scuttled around back to the other two. "What's the deal? You figure something out?"

"Can you put this stone into a bubble?"

The water-type arched a brow. "That blazing rock? I dunno how long a bubble would keep it cool…"

"Just do it," Lorenzo insisted.

With a reluctant nod, Corphish blew a bubble and squeezed the stone inside. He handed it to Emma. "Here ya' go, then—"

Emma climbed onto the base of the statue, towing along the Drought Stone. As she reached the upper chest of Groudon, she popped the bubble, nearly dropping the stone to the ground.

"Ow! Ow! _Hot_!" she exclaimed, thrusting the stone somewhere inside the chest.

As the eevee returned to the ground, the area began to shake. Panic in her eyes, she ordered, "Get away!"

Lorenzo only took one look at the glowing statue and booked it.


	24. Day 24: Dizzy

I was falling.

The world tumbled with me, thunder cackling at me every so often. In the times between each lightning strike, I saw the faintest of colors: gray, pink, blue…

Green and red.

Something told me I had to recognize those colors. All I saw were vague, blurry blobs. Some were larger or smaller than others, but they were all equally unknown to me.

All except the green and red shape. It was as if the name was at the tip of my tongue, just out of reach. _Why? Why is this one different from the others?_

My mind just couldn't think of an answer, however. All that time thinking about those shapes was as fruitless as attempting to swim up rapids…

I felt my body crash into a cold, salty liquid. Even in my half-conscious state, I recognized the timeliness of that analogy.

Now, I was getting tossed and turned by the raging sea. The thunder never ceased its laughter - if anything, it got louder than ever.

Each wave that flipped me over churned my stomach in ways I didn't think were possible. Not once did I have a chance to breathe air for more than a second.

Flailing my arms did little to ease my situation, but I had to take every chance I could to get out of the sea.

Another flash. I spotted a giant clifface. Its carvings gave off a formidable aura, designed after…

I had little time to worry about such a detail. My limbs had given out, leaving me no choice but to pray that the waves would bring me somewhere safe. I only knew one objective I needed to complete:

_Find the bronzor's keys._

* * *

"'Ey, you gonna get up or sumthin'?"

My eyes remained shut. I refused to open them, fearing my vertigo would get the better of me. I let out a weak cough to let whoever called out to me know that I was conscious.

"Yer jus' gonna lie there. Suit yerself…"

A new, much deeper voice cleared his throat. "Well, is this stone yours?"

I furrowed my brow, slowly pushing an arm against the ground. In a voice barely above a whisper, I asked, "What… stone?"

The higher, more nasally voice scoffed. "Tack, this guy showed up _after_ we found that rock. Didja' _really_ think he'd know about it?"

Opening an eye, I immediately closed it and began rubbing it. I had to be careful with the sand attached to my arm "Shit, that's bright…"

"Heh-heh, welcome back to the world of the living, phanpy!" the nasally voice cheered.

My mind reeled at the statement. "Phanpy? The hell are you talking about?"

As my eyes adjusted to the brightness of… wherever I was, I noticed a blue, winged creature hovering over me. We seemed to be inside some cave…

"Aw, cripes," he said in that nasal tone I recognized. Turning to a purple ball with fumes coming out of it, he continued. "Don't tell me he's got that, uh… anorexia or sumthin'."

"I think that's apraxia you're talkin' about," the ball corrected. He turned to me and frowned in thought. "Maybe that storm did a number on ya'? Not sure how a phanpy like ya' got in the ocean, but those're my thoughts on that."

_What-- Wait, I think they're talking about amnesia…_ I groaned. _That'd explain why I don't know what these creatures are… but…_

"But I'm not a phanpy!" I blurted out, feeling something flap at my arm. As I inspected my body, I added, "I'm a human! Can't you… see?"

These weren't my arms. Every human had gray skin, didn't they? Why did I see rough, light blue skin where my arms were supposed to be?

I tried to stand up, but this body apparently didn't like standing on two legs. I tumbled onto my back, receiving a stinging feeling.

"What the _fuck_?" I hissed. "I-I don't remember looking like this!"

Looking to the other two, I saw their looks of concentration - although the bat-like creature didn't have any visible eyes.

"...Hunter, what do we do?" the ball whispered. He bit his lip. "If only we had the boss to give us some advice…"

"_That_ prick?" Hunter scoffed. "Gimme a _break_… You _saw_ what he did to that eevee yesterday! We have to figure this whole schtick ourselves!"

"But I've never dealt with someone with anesthesia!"

"So what? If the boss were involved, he wouldn't give _two shits_ about that phanpy's atheism!"

"It's aesthetic!"

"Anorexia!"

"_I_ called it that earlier!"

"_Who cares_?!"

I grumbled to myself before stepping between them. "It's _amnesia_, you idiots! Just tell me what a phanpy is!"

Hunter glanced at the purple ball, then back to me. A grin slowly creeped up his face. "'Ey, now _that's_ what I call spunk!"

Perching onto my head, he continued. "Well, simply put, a phanpy is a pokémon - everybody's a pokémon here, so I bet this 'hyu-man' thing is a pokémon, too. That should help with yer aesthetic!"

I narrowed my eyes. "_Amnesia_… And what's a pokémon?"

"You _sure_ yer not just jokin' around?" Hunter inquired, leaning to… "stare" me in the face. "...Nah, you don't look like the kinda 'mon to mess around… 'Kay, I'll explain."

He went back into the air. "So, there's a whole bunch of species called pokémon, and we all have mystical powers to help us live, I'm a zubat, my buddy Tack here's a koffing with a _killer_ poison gas, and…"

The zubat bogged me down with so much information, I could barely stand by the end of his speech. _Stop it. Stop making me dizzy. Please._

"...Aaand that's about all I know," Hunter finally stated. "Ya' got that?"

"W-Well--"

"Of course ya' do!" He went behind me and pushed me along. "Here, let's go see if we can sell this rock!"

I saw Tack lift up a stone with his mouth, but I couldn't see much else of it. _I doubt it'd be worth much…_


	25. Day 25: Tasty

Despite his attempts to keep his skills for cooking a secret, Damien couldn't resist the chance to make a delicious meal for the Expedites. After Swirlix had requested help in preparing food for the upcoming picnic - and seeing as though everyone else aside from Ampharos was hesitant to help - Damien took it upon himself to assist in the large order.

He could only gawk at the disorderly nature of the kitchen: while not necessarily harmful, the shelves were seemingly stocked with random ingredients. Labels were nonexistent for the most part, but Swirlix supposedly knew where everything was.

"It just works!" the fairy-type stated, sticking his tongue out. "It's all going in my… _everyone's_ stomach, so why would I need to organize it?"

Ampharos shrugged. "Can't argue with that."

"Well, if we have multiple people working in the kitchen," Damien began with a tired tone, "getting everything organized would look better for them. Case in point: I think this looks like shit."

The other two winced. Ampharos tilted his head. "Then what do you suggest?"

Damien smirked. Cracking his knuckles, he said, "I know just what to start with…"

* * *

Aubree twiddled her thumbs, glancing down the hallway. _Damien has been in the kitchen for a while… Maybe he's having trouble with cooking?_

She heard clacking feet pass by, craning her head to watch Acro amble across the hall. He turned to her, exhaling through his nostrils.

"You know, I don't think I've seen you away from Damien since you two came here," the archen observed. "...Are you worried about him?"

"H-Huh?" Aubree put her paws behind her back, forcing a smile. "No, of _course_ not! I just…"

Faltering at Acro's unmoved expression, she sighed. "Okay, maybe I _am_ a little. Does cooking usually take this long?"

"It doesn't," he deadpanned, but he chuckled shortly afterward. "I'm pretty sure it's for the picnic in a couple of days. Has anyone told you how much we have to pack for those kinds of trips?"

"Uhh…" Aubree counted on her digits. "Not a clue."

Acro let out a short, crazed laugh. "We have to have a whole lapras for all that stuff! _And_ it's either Jay or me who has to keep watch and make sure it doesn't tip over! It's not as fun as you may think it is."

The riolu's eyes widened. "A _whole lapras_?! That's a lot of food!"

"Oh, but even if I have to stay constantly alert for the trip," Acro added, "the food is just so worth it! I think Puffers cooks better dishes for trips like these - his chocolate-covered rawsts are _especially_ tasty…"

His stomach rumbled. "...I should stop talking about that before I get hungrier…"

Letting out a giggle, Aubree covered her mouth. "I wonder if Swirls would like to cook with my Pops sometime. My Pops makes the _best_ oran salads!"

Groaning, Acro rubbed his stomach with a wing. "_Stop_… At this rate, I'll have Puffers’ appetite at dinner!"

A clatter echoed from the kitchen, alerting the two. Aubree hurried down, ignoring the cries from the archen.

When she rounded the corner, her jaw dropped. The whole kitchen looked spotless! She could see Ampharos neatly placing containers in and out of cabinets, as well as Puffers mixing various berries in a bowl.

Damien was stirring the pot, adding a hint of salt every so often. Most surprisingly, he had a big smile on his face - a genuine smile, unlike the usual smirks he'd display.

The kitchen smelled _amazing_. Aubree's nose twitched, and she already found herself drooling.

_I didn't know Damien liked cooking,_ she mused, sneaking into the kitchen. _I bet I can help him cook!_

"Hey!"

Aubree straightened, facing Puffers. "Um— Well, I—"

Smiling, the fairy-type handed her a bowl. "You’re here to help, right? You can get started by crushing these!"

"O-Oh!" The riolu took the bowl, inspecting it, then glancing up and grinning back. "Yeah, I can do that!"

Looking to see if Damien had noticed, she saw him with a shocked expression. His cheeks seemed a bit redder than usual…

When they locked eyes, the pikachu went back to staring in the pot, looking flustered.

Aubree giggled, readying a fist to start crushing the berries. _He's really cute when he does that…_

"Wh— Hold up, Aubree!" Puffers exclaimed, taking back the bowl he had given her. "S-Sorry, I forgot to tell you you need to wash your paws first."

"Oh, right."

* * *

Damien wasn't sure if Aubree helping in the kitchen was a good idea, but the first batch of food went by without incident. He suspected the gods had given him some good luck, since the riolu had a track record of being absolutely unpredictable.

Nonetheless, as the four of them took a short break, Aubree sidled up to him, grinning ear to ear. "You like to cook, dontcha'?"

"That's… none of your business," Damien muttered, blushing. He looked away. "Nobody else looked like they wanted to help, so I did."

"You like to cook, I _know_ it!" the fighting-type sang, nuzzling against him. "Hee-hee, I'll be sure to try whatever _you_ make!"

"Q-Quit it…" he grumbled, lightly swatting her away.

"Aw, _okay_…"

Backing off, Aubree winked at him before talking up with Ampharos. She had a blush on her face as well.

Damien rubbed a cheek, unable to keep himself from being so flustered. _D-Dammit… She's too cute, and she _knows_ it… and I can't bring myself to make her stop!_

He noticed Swirlix coming up to him, a crafty smile on the fairy's face.

"What do you want?" Damien hissed.

Swirlix gave him half of a pecha, saying nothing to him. Snickering, he went to Aubree and handed her the other half and whispered into her ear.

Aubree's blush deepened, and she approached the pikachu. "You wanted to give this to me?! That's so nice of you!"

"Wha— That wasn't—"

Breath hitching, Damien glared at Swirlix - who was having trouble stifling his laughter. The fairy-type winked at him.


	26. Day 26: Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains spoilers for Gates to Infinity. Just be warned.

Alexander opened an eye, letting out a tense breath. He seemed to be at the entrance to a cave. The sun shone behind him, starting its ascent for the day.

Memories from before he collapsed resurfaced, only serving to hasten his breath. _Right, right, we were looking for Munna. We found her, but before we could take her to Post Town, she… she turned on us._

His head spun from this turn of events. _But why would she turn on us? I thought she was hiding from Hydreigon! Then we were surrounded, and Kurtis and I took out the chandelure…_

_Then… Kurtis and I got separated._

Clenching his fists, Alexander felt tears well up. _And now I'm… I'm alone… I had to fight off that toxicroak, and…_

He furrowed his brow. _And… _then_ what? I think I fell. How am I alive now?_

Slowly uncurling, the snivy turned around, seeing a flickering campfire…

And Hydreigon.

Alexander screamed, backing into a rock. "H-H-Hydreigon! G-Get _away_!"

The dragon whirled onto his stomach, eyes wide. "A-Alex, you're awake! I was so _worried_ you weren't gonna—"

"B-Back off!" Alexander demanded, summoning his vines to shield himself. "Don't eat me, _please_!"

"_Eat_ you? Where'd you get _that_ idea?!" Hydreigon exclaimed. He rested his chin on a mouth-hand, then gasped. "_Munna_ told you that, didn't she? Don't believe her! I'd never eat anyone - _especially_ you, Alex!"

"I— What—"

Alexander let his guard down - but only for just a moment. "Wh-Why should I believe _you_?! You're just saying that so you can kill me while I'm not looking!"

"N-No, that's not true!" The dragon turned around, bringing out a large bag. After pulling out a badge, he added, "S-See? I'm part of a team! It's my _job_ to help others in need! Y'know, there was one time where I had to go alone just like this time, and the pokémon I helped out was—"

He cleared his throat. "Well, back on topic, I need your help with stopping the disaster that's coming!"

The snivy faltered, his head hurting. "I'm so _confused_… Why _me_?"

"You're one of the humans I sought out for help," Hydreigon stated.

Alexander's breath hitched. "Wh-What? _One of_ the humans?"

Nodding solemnly, the dragon turned away. "Yeah… But every human fell against Munna and her henchmen… Except you."

"...I'm the only human left?"

Hydreigon tilted his head. "Well, of the ones I summoned here, yeah… There are other humans around, but they're too far away to really help."

Furrowing his brow, Alexander's mouth hung open. "So… You're telling me… _you_ took me here? Not Munna?"

"Yup!" Hydreigon confirmed, grinning. "And now that we've finally met, I can tell you—"

"I don't believe you."

The dragon-type flinched, panic in his eyes. "You _don't_? Oh, what am I gonna do…"

He huddled his arms together, floating into the air. "The only human left, and I can't convince him to help me… Shoot, how am I gonna stop Kyurem…"

Alexander did a double-take. "...Did you just say Kyurem?"

Gasping, Hydreigon whipped back around. "Y-Yeah! Kyurem's the one that's making this disaster come to fruition! Only a human can withstand the power of that negative aura, and that's gonna be a _must_ when fighting off that disaster! That's why I summoned as many humans as I can, and…"

Tuning out the dragon, Alexander crossed his arms in thought. _I remember the first time I encountered Kyurem… Everybody had collapsed except me. Could what Hydreigon say be… _true_? I'm fairly certain I'm the only human on my team, so that thick air not affecting me would make sense with that logic…_

_But if he's trying to help me, what was going on when I first arrived?_ The snivy lowered his head, narrowing his eyes. _He _clearly_ looked like he was attacking Munna, but…_

He recalled the encounter with Toxicroak again. _When I thought I had beaten him and his cronies, those excadrill and that salamence showed up. Just before the salamence shot me with that beam…_

Alexander's eyes widened. _That's right… Hydreigon came up from behind the cliff and interrupted the salamence's attack! I was so shocked, I slipped off the cliff… Then that means…_

"...so now that you're in front of me," Hydreigon continued, "I have to reiterate: _please_, Alexander. Can you please help me take down Kyurem?"

The snivy let out a terse breath. He stared into the dragon's green eyes. "I'm… still not sure if I can trust you just yet. I need to find Kurtis first and foremost."

"I can help you, then—"

"No!" Alexander blurted out. He looked at Hydreigon's hurt expression and sighed. "I can't… Kurtis still thinks you're my enemy. What would he think of me if he sees me working with you?"

Hydreigon bit his lip. His eyes glowed for a brief moment, and his breath hitched. "Your friend, Kurtis…"

"...What about him?" Alexander muttered, not liking where this was going. "Don't tell me, is he… Is he…"

Gagging, the snivy stumbled. "Is he d-_dead_?"

"Wait— No, not at all!" the dragon stated, lifting his arms in defense. "I was trying to locate Kurtis with my… Well, regardless, he's been captured by Munna's gang."

Alexander glared at him. "What were you using to locate him? How do you know where he is?"

"I was—" Hydreigon sighed. "Okay, I was using those same powers I used to keep an eye on you. Kurtis seems to be safe… for now. I couldn't see much, though, since it was so dark. There was a lot of echo, so I think it may be some sort of tunnel."

"You— You were keeping an eye on me?" The grass-type scowled, readying his tail. "For what reason would you do _that_?!"

"To make sure you were safe!" Hydreigon sputtered, glancing away. "We need to go rescue Kurtis, right?"

"_Yes_!"

Hydreigon gestured to follow him. "Then c'mon! Sitting here won't do much good!"

Alexander hesitated, letting out an infuriated groan. Nonetheless, he trailed after the dragon.


	27. Day 27: Coat

I stared into the painting, heaving a great sigh. _Our last commemorative picture before we split up… What a time, what a time…_

Although it had already been a few decades since graduating from that guild, I still couldn't think of any crowning achievements to date. Perhaps I was just getting sentimental, but I cherished the moment regardless.

Now, though, that memory had soured. One of my former guildmates had unexpectedly died just a few years back. A teammate of his was blamed for the murder and went missing as well.

My mouth curled into a frown. _I knew that psychic was trouble… Why didn't you believe me? I could've prevented you from going to that deadly mountain if I weren't so… so _spineless_!_

"_Don't make that face, man,_" my coworker pleaded. "_That's not a good way to start the day… Are you still grieving?_"

I raised a limb towards him threateningly, but I faltered. Letting loose another sigh, I returned to my seat. "Yeah. I _miss him_, okay?"

"_Right…_"

The bell rang to notify us of a customer. I put on my best service smile, facing the newcomer. "Heyo! How can—"

My body froze. Was that really who I was seeing? "L-Lass…?"

Shaking my head, I let out a trembling breath. _No, get over yourself. Lass evolved into an arbok _ages_ ago. This ekans could just be unrelated…_

Ekans slithered up to the counter, squinting his eyes. "You got any yellow paint? I think marigold might be the right one…"

I nodded, forcing a smile to my face. "Sure do! Wales, if you would…"

"_Riiiight-oh!_"

Taking a bucket of paint from the topmost shelf, the wobbuffet placed it on the counter in front of me.

"Okay, that'll be fifty poké!" I announced. My smile wavered, the temptation to ask Ekans about Lass almost becoming overbearing. "Do you… Would you like anything else?"

Glancing around, Ekans exhaled through his nostrils. He stopped at one particular object, rubbing his chin with the tip of his tail. "Who are all these pokémon?"

A flicker of hope sparked within me. He was looking at the graduation painting! "Oh! Those are all the students I graduated Slowking's guild with. We were the last group to graduate before Guildmaster Slowking's retirement… Would you like a closer look?"

The poison-type nodded, approaching the painting and inspecting it. "...There was an arbok who graduated?"

"Y-Yes, there was!" I said, my voice cracking just a bit. "That was Lass, a good friend of mine. Alongside that ampharos - his name's Etcher - we went through a lot of adventures together."

"Lass, Lass…" Ekans furrowed his brow. "Hm… Tell me more."

"Of course!" Leaning over the counter, I continued. "She's rather quiet, but she's got a _ferocious_ fighting spirit. I believe she's longer than the average arbok, though I'm not sure by how much… She and Etcher got together after a while - I heard they had two kids… Except…"

"...Except _what_?"

I exhaled. "...Etcher's dead. Lass went missing shortly afterwards. I haven't heard from her or her kids since then."

The serpent's head lowered. "...I see. Here, I should be giving you that fifty poké."

"Right, right…"

After receiving the money, I handed Ekans the bucket of paint. He held it by the tip of his tail, wrapping it in an all too familiar way.

_Dammit, why does he have to act so much like her?_ I thought, grimacing.

"_You're forgetting something,_" Wales told me.

"Oh, right." I called for Ekans again. "Would you like us to help you paint a fresh new coat?"

He turned to me, shaking his head. "I've got my buddies who can help out. It's fine."

Before he fully exited the venue, my breath hitched. "W-Wait, one more thing!"

Ekans deadpanned at me, but he stopped in his tracks regardless. "Yes?"

"Could I have a name, please?" I requested. "In case we meet again, that is."

"...Archie. Yours?"

"Wyatt." I smiled at him. "A pleasure working with you, Archie!"

He headed out the door, leaving me to reflect. _I hope Lass is alright. Wherever she's at right now, I hope she and her kids are safe…_

* * *

A few months had passed since I last saw Archie. The Square had a lot more activity going on; walls being erected on every side, increased rescue requests, the works. My materials had gone missing more frequently as of late…

With what little psychic power I could conjure up, I set up a small psychic field around the inner shop. Hopefully, it would alert me each time someone entered or left the shop. Alongside the bells that would jingle whenever someone came in through the main entrance, this only caused more headaches for me.

Speaking of the devil…

I heard the bells chime again, followed by a quiet snap. My service smile came back to me - though not without a little convincing.

"Heyo! What can I do for—"

Another snap echoed in my mind, making me wince. "—For you?"

Turning the corner, I spotted none other than Archie, accompanied by a gengar. The ekans looked to me, waving his tail.

"So this is that 'Wynaut Crew' you were talkin' about," Gengar stated to Archie, crossing his arms. "It's a little _small_, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it's just me and Wobbuffet working here," I said, not dropping my smile. "Most of the work is done outdoors, since most pokémon come here to get us to build houses. We do have a small selection of materials you can buy for yourself, of course!"

"Huh." Gengar turned to the ekans with a slight grin. "Maybe we should remodel that dingy house some time."

Archie approached me, handing me a slip of paper. "I heard you were hiring."

I inspected the paper. Chock full of personal information about Archie. With a chuckle, I handed the resumé back to him.

"Well, we _could_ use an extra 'mon to run this shop," I said, gesturing him behind the counter. "C'mon. I'll get to interviewin' ya'."


	28. Day 28: Ride

Etcher took a bite out of his crepe, chewing slowly. The annual feast, despite the incident regarding Shuckle's enchanted chocolate, had gone relatively smoothly. Alongside the entire village, several travelers had joined in on the feast.

Now, the flaaffy had already gotten his fill. Wyatt was chatting with Farfetch’d a fair distance away, and Lass…

_She said she had to 'get something',_ he mused. _What could it be?_

Fortunately, he didn't have to think about it much longer. The arbok swerved around tables and arrived at Etcher's and Wyatt's. She bowed, nearly bumping an adjacent table in the process.

"Oh—" Lass turned and apologized to the other table before facing the flaaffy. "I'm sorry about disappearing like that. There was just something I needed to get done."

"It's no issue," Etcher said. "Would you… care to tell me what that was about?"

With a sigh, the poison-type looked to her… shadow? Now that he saw it, her shadow seemed a little off. It looked as if there were… two of them on top of each other?

"Hey, c'mon out. It's fine here."

The shadow flickered and wavered before rising, revealing a rather nervous-looking haunter. "This is the 'friend' you were talking about, right?"

"Yes, this is Etcher," Lass confirmed, glancing at the flaaffy in question. "Etcher, meet Haunter. I met him a couple of months back while exploring alone."

"Alright…"

Etcher leaned back in his chair. While Haunter seemed a bit… _odd_, the ghost-type didn't _look_ like anybody who would cause trouble. _Plus, if he's got Lass's approval, I'm sure he's fine._

"Nice to meet you, Haunter," he stated, stretching out a paw. After a moment's pause, he cleared his throat. "Er, you're supposed to shake my paw."

"Yeah, I know," Haunter sighed. Twisting his claws, he made a nervous grin. "Just not used to having these… er, floating hands. Gimme a moment…"

"He recently evolved," Lass explained with a shake of her head.

The flaaffy waited patiently for the haunter to bring a claw over to his paw and shake it. "So what do you think of the feast? We had a couple of new dishes served this year, you know?"

"Uh, yeah…" Haunter scratched the back of his head. "Those cookies tasted delicious. Do you know who made those?"

"It was the guild's cook, Shuckle," Etcher answered, smiling. "He's over there—"

A chill ran down his spine. Up ahead, three giant pokémon were talking to Shuckle and Slowking: Raikou, Entei, and Suicune.

Etcher looked around, seeing that several others were gazing at the trio of legends, too. _Holy shit, so I'm _not_ just seeing things…_

"What's the deal with you now?" Lass questioned, arching a brow.

"Just look behind you," the electric-type hastily replied. He gestured to the newcomers.

Glancing behind herself, Lass' eyes went as wide as Etcher's.

Now that the surprise had diminished for him, he checked to see if Haunter was watching the spectacle as well. Strangely, the ghost had hidden in Lass' shadow again…

"Attention, everyone!"

Etcher returned his gaze to the legends, where Shuckle stood proudly in front of them.

"Our guests have a special announcement to make!" the bug-type claimed. "Once again, I have to thank everyone for attending! Now, Suicune, you may step forward."

"Thank you, Stonewall." Suicune bowed to the crowd. "We are pleased to announce that we will be offering our tour of the Sea of Wonders this year."

Cheers erupted from the tables, followed by several pokémon standing up and whooping.

Raikou cleared his throat, raising a paw to silence the crowd. "However, due to what happened last year, we will only be letting three pokémon ride along - one on each of us. We hope you understand."

Etcher, alongside many others, let out a disappointed moan. _It's probably for the best…_

"For this year," Entei added, "we will be picking out who we believe are the most capable. Please make some room for us."

Immediately, the flaaffy scrambled to his feet. Lass perked up as well, possibly just as excited as him.

The legends split up to wade through the audience. Etcher could hear not-so-quiet moans from the crowd, making him roll his eyes. _Must be a few excited fans… Sure, they're celebrities, but _really_?_

Unbeknownst to him, Raikou went around behind him and tapped him on the back. Etcher flinched, whipping around and gaping at the larger electric-type.

"Etcher, correct?"

He nodded with a newfound vigor. "Y-Yeah, that's me."

Raikou grinned. "You certainly make a stupendous tamato soup. In addition to that, your eagerness to fix the perfect chocolate situation speaks volumes to me."

Blushing, Etcher rubbed the wool around his head. "Th-Thank you. I, uh, appreciate it, sir."

"No need to be modest," the yellow legend chided playfully. He turned his side to face the flaaffy. "Come along."

Etcher stared at the purple cape-like fur atop Raikou's back for a moment, mesmerized by its regal appearance. He climbed atop the legend after hearing him clear his throat again.

Returning to the front, Etcher sent a sympathetic smile to all the pokémon with crushed expressions. He saw Entei and Suicune return, and, much to his surprise, Lass and Wyatt were respectively riding them.

Tail wrapped around the fire-type legend's stomach, Lass turned to Etcher with a nervous look. "You too?"

"Heh, figures that we'd be picked," Wyatt stated, holding a jovial grin. "I don't think I'd come along if you two weren't coming as well!"

Etcher shook his head, but a smile still graced his face. "I wouldn't have had it any other way, either."

"We thank you for your cooperation," Suicune told the crowd. "Again, we apologize for the new ruleset we have placed. We hope to see you all next year."

The crowd cheered one last time. When all was said and done, Raikou craned his head towards Etcher and smirked.

"Hold on tight," he instructed. "Prepare to go airborne."

Etcher did as such, his heart pounding. _This is really happening, isn't it?_


	29. Day 29: Injured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor content warning: there will be blood in this chapter. Just be warned.

I threw another gravelerock at Grovyle, drawing his attention back to me. "You better get away from her!"

"Tch!" The grass-type made his way over to me, letting Emma get back. He held up an arm, scowling at me. "Can't you see I'm doing this for the better of everyone? These time gears aren't supposed to be here!"

Furrowing my brow, I stood my ground and glared right back at him. "If they really weren't a part of the ecosystem, why does time stop when they're taken from their spots?"

"Because… _Because_…"

Grovyle shook his head with a grunt. "That doesn't matter. I know where they _truly_ belong, and no ragtag team such as you will stop me."

He lashed out with a leaf blade, striking my side with a lot more power than usual. I fell to the ground, but a glow in my bag brought me right back up.

_Shit, there aren’t a lot of reviver seeds left._ I grimaced, digging through my bag. _There's gotta be something I can use to—_

I jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding his boosted leaf blade. _He's in an Overgrow state. Only a few more hits…_

_...How do I know that? I thought I forgot about abilities…_

My train of thought had completely derailed, making me pause long enough to take another powerful hit. After I got back up due to another reviver seed, I refocused my efforts on the fight. _Okay. I need to strike… now!_

Bringing up ancient rocks, I threw them into Grovyle. He dropped to the ground.

I let out a strangled breath. _I… I did it! Oh, thank Arc…_

A flash came from the reptile's bag. Much to my horror, he got right back up, staring me down.

"Did you think I didn't come prepared?" Grovyle growled.

He proceeded to strike me down multiple times, each hit taking a greater toll on me. When I couldn't get back up, he raised his arm one more time.

All the while, I kept my determined glare trained on him. I tried to summon another ancientpower, but my legs refused to cooperate.

My eyes went to Emma. Despite recovering enough to fight again, she would be no match for Grovyle.

"G-Get away…" I demanded, coughing. "Emma, go! Run away!"

The eevee looked to me, then back at Grovyle. "No."

"Poor choice, Eevee."

One hit from his leaf blade was all it took to knock Emma down. Without my reviver seeds, she didn't get back up.

"You… You…" I forced my body up against its will, trying my _damnedest_ to summon an attack. "I will do _whatever_ it takes to bring you down!"

I coughed up something, crumpling to the floor. In front of me was a small pool of blood.

Grovyle stared at me the whole time, his brow furrowing. He muttered something under his breath before turning around to face Azelf.

_'D-Dammit… Get _back_… here…'_

In my attempts at getting up despite my injured body, my voice had given out. I watched the grass-type hopelessly, waiting for him to strike Azelf, too.

My vision blurred. While I couldn't hear the rest of the conversation, I felt the ground tremble beneath me. Large, crystalline spikes jutted out from the border between the land and water.

_Will that work?_ I pondered. _They're massive… But he's agile, and… too strong…_

As my sight faded, my breathing hastened. _No. No! I… I have to… I have to _stop_ him! No, I can't let… him… take the…_

* * *

Everything hurt. My legs, my back, my head… Every fiber of my being groaned in agony.

That couldn't stop me from trying to get up. _'I have… No! _No_! I can't be too late! Grovyle, where are…'_

I saw a familiar window. My body was resting on straw.

"G-Guys! Lorenzo's awake!"

Confusion wreaked havoc in my mind. _'Whuh… What the hell…?'_

When my vision returned to me, I noticed several of my guildmates surrounding me. Sunflora and Bidoof were on the verge of tears, Chimecho had a relieved smile on her face, and Loudred was turned around, sniffling away.

"You're alive!" Chimecho exclaimed.

I attempted to get up, but the psychic-type kept me down. "Ah— Easy there! You still need time to recover."

"Ggh…" I turned my head as much as I could - it wasn't much, however. "Grovyle… Where's…"

"He escaped," Sunflora stated, "but thanks to Azelf summoning that 'security system' of his, Grovyle didn't get the time gear!"

"Lorenzo…"

Emma glared at me, tears in her eyes. "Don't do that again… _Please_! I thought you were…"

She pressed against me, crying. I saw bandages around her back, bringing a sense of guilt to my body.

_Why didn't you run away like I told you to?_ I wanted to ask. _You shouldn't have risked yourself like that…_

Instead, I just let her cry on me.

"Now, if you please…"

Heads turned over to Chatot. His beak held a grim expression. "I know you all wish to see Lorenzo and Emma get better, but there is still work to do. _Please_, don't crowd around them like this…"

"_Fuck_ that noise!" Loudred growled. "You don't know what it's like to be on the verge of death!"

"Actually, I _do_." The avian crossed his wings. "And I know that hovering over them constantly won't help their recovery. Now, everyone, I want you to start the daily cheer—"

"Chatot."

Wigglytuff frowned at Chatot from the entrance to our room. "Let them be."

"But Guildmaster, I—"

Resting a wing on his head, Chatot sighed. "...Alright, Guildmaster."

As the two of them left the room, I turned to Emma. She had stopped crying, but her gaze was still fixated on me.

I tried again in getting up, noticing the gauze around my entire torso and back. _I must've been slashed so many times… Damn you, Grovyle._

There was only one thing I had on my mind now: revenge. I had to get back at Grovyle somehow…


	30. Day 30: Catch

Rocard hated not being able to read footprint runes. This barrier impeded just about all walks of life. Newspaper? He didn't even have pictures to look at - cameras apparently weren't a thing in Valosse. Rescue requests? He had to get Lockjaw's help with that.

Nobody could understand his writing either… and that wasn't because it was sloppier than usual. _Why couldn't I have stayed in Orre? Sure, it was pretty bad there, but at least I could _read_! Can't even do _that_ now…_

He stood in front of the bulletin board, trying to make it seem like he was just taking a while to decide on a request. Waving his hand in a circle, he decided to just pick one he thought looked nice. "How about… this one?"

Scoffing, Lockjaw tore the piece of paper off of the board. "Deliver a cheri to Exeggcute. Tiny Woods, second basement floor. Do we even _have_ one of those?"

"Yeah, it was a reward from Rey," the cyndaquil stated. "Remember? It was technically our first mission."

Lockjaw rolled his eyes. "Whatever. There's another request for the third floor. Do you want to take that or something?"

With a nod, Rocard took another slip without thinking.

"...Wrong one." The totodile pointed at the paper farthest to the left. "Couldn't you see?"

"Oh, I, uh…" Rocard retrieved the proper request. "Well, I wasn't really paying attention. Besides, can't we just take all of these and do them when we can?"

Grumbling to himself, Lockjaw rubbed his snout. "Pretty sure you're only allowed to take eight per day."

"Alright, then…"

Rocard tore off five more pieces of paper and stuffed them in his bag. Lockjaw looked on in shock.

"..._What_?" The fire-type arched a brow. "Wouldn't it be efficient to help several people at once?"

"Have you _been_ to Lapis Cave?" Lockjaw protested, huffing. "Those wilds are _way_ out of our league! Do you _want_ us to fail?"

"Uh…"

Crossing his arms, Lockjaw glared at the cyndaquil. "Can you even read?"

Rocard winced. "O-Of _course_ I can! What gives you _that_ idea?"

"Then read this request."

Lockjaw pointed to a paper on the board. Had Rocard still been human, he would have started sweating.

"Er, 'Deliver an oran to'—"

"That says, 'My nephew's in trouble! Please rescue Zigzagoon!'" the water-type corrected with narrowed eyes. "So you can't read. Why didn't you tell me?"

Furrowing his brow, Rocard turned away slightly. "That's none of your business. Here, I'll put what I took back…"

"Just hand them to me," Lockjaw ordered. "_I'll_ pick out the missions from now on. You go do… whatever you like doing."

Rocard sighed, handing over the other pieces of paper and scooting off to the side. He looked around, skipping over the post office and other buildings. _At least he didn't press the topic this time…_

He caught sight of another bulletin board, placed a little out of the way compared to the rescue board. This piqued his curiosity, and he went over to analyze it.

This board looked a lot less pristine; moss grew all over the sides, and some parts had cracked from misuse. A white tarp was draped over the board, hiding many requests.

Among these requests, Rocard could see drawings of various pokémon. The format appeared to resemble wanted posters… _Why would this board be so run down? There are a lot of bounties here, so _surely_, you could make some serious bank…_

"Why are you staring at _this_ old thing?"

Rocard jumped, turning to glare at Lockjaw. "Did you have to sneak up on me like that?"

"Just answer the question," Lockjaw deadpanned.

"I was _curious_, okay?" the cyndaquil exclaimed, sifting through the multiple layers. "Look, there are a bunch of bounties here! I'm sure we can do a _few_ of these…"

He found one sheet with a particularly outstanding reward: five _million_ poké for taking down a dragonite! "Holy _shit_, look at this one! This guy looks out of our league, but just imagine…"

Lockjaw had a disgusted expression on his face. "Don't take that one."

"...Alright." Rocard tilted his head, glancing at the bounty again. "Mind if I ask—"

"_Yes_, I _do_ mind," the totodile growled, snatching the piece of paper and crumpling it up. He went towards the cliff and threw it off the edge.

"Okay, sheesh," Rocard muttered. "I doubt you needed to do that…"

"Shut it," Lockjaw hissed. He reached to grab the fire-type, but he stopped himself short. "...Come on. Thunderwave Cave is up first."

Rocard rolled his eyes, following the totodile back into town.

* * *

During his daily board checkup, Sergeant Swellow noticed a few peculiarities: some papers had been haphazardly torn and replaced onto the rescue board. While it didn't necessarily break any rules, this sort of practice ruffled his feathers.

The bird pokémon glanced to the side to think. _Let's see… This most likely was done by a new team. Arceus knows how many times I've seen _this_ done…_

He shook his head, putting up fresh requests and moving onto the outlaw board.

Although it had been an outlaw board for the longest time, recent… _developments_ dictated that such a board would no longer be used. However, this board was designed to stay permanently in one spot.

So, to dissuade use, Swellow covered it in a white sheet without ever changing the notices beneath. Many of these outlaws were still on the loose, after all.

This didn't guarantee that this board wouldn't receive any attention, though. Swellow checked under the sheet, noticing a rather bare spot on the board…

His beak fell open. He knew _exactly_ which wanted poster had been taken - a five million poké reward was hard to miss. _Somebody took down Greyson's notice!_

Sergeant Swellow let go of the sheet, taking to the air. _That dragonite couldn't have gone here himself to take it down… So somebody who knows him must've done it._

After years of tracking him down, Swellow had finally found a clue.


	31. Day 31 [FINALE]: Ripe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major spoilers for just about every PMD game. Just be warned.

Aubree picked out the best berries she could from the orchard. This season, in her experience, held the best times to harvest orans. She held off on uprooting the rest of the plant - just this once. Today was a bit more special than the others…

Today, she and Damien were going to meet the other humans.

She glanced over the plants, making sure Damien was still collecting pechas. However, he seemed to have moved on to pick out cheris already.

"Hey, _Damien_!" she beckoned, grabbing the electric-type's attention. "How about you help out with the other orans with me?"

"We still have the sitruses to take care of," Damien stated, his tail swishing.

"_Pleeease_?"

Letting out a great sigh, Damien made his way over to her. "_Fffine_…"

"Fantastic," Aubree whispered. She nuzzled against the raichu, causing him to blush. "C'mon, let's get back to work!"

"Y-Yeah…"

The lucario giggled, covering her mouth with a paw. "You look so _cute_ when you blush…"

Her comment only made his face redder - exactly what she had been hoping for.

"D-Dammit, I know you're just trying to distract me…" Damien muttered.

"You _know_ you _like_ it, though…" she teased, ruffling the patch of fur atop his head.

As they finished up with berry harvesting, Aubree snickered. She trotted on ahead, heading back to the house to prepare a few meals.

* * *

Riding atop Lapras, Kurtis sighed in boredom. In an attempt to make the remainder of this trip more engaging, he stated, "The sea is simply beautiful, isn't it?"

Alexander nodded, coiling around the haxorus. "Simply _marvelous_… Ah, if only my kids could see this in person…"

"They seem like pretty nice humans," Kurtis commented, agreeing with the statement. "At least you can show them pictures of this place with that… You called it a camera-phone, right?"

"It's a phone with a built-in camera," the serperior corrected. "Hydreigon said I couldn't carry anything larger than that. I believe it has something to do with maintaining a proper balance…"

"Yeah, you've said something like that before…"

The functionality of a phone still bewildered Kurtis; something that small could not only take pictures, but also store documents, access the "Internet", and communicate with just about anyone? It seemed so magical!

"Land ahoy!"

Kurtis jolted a little, glancing past Lapras and spotting a mass of land up ahead. Due to the only port being on the opposite end of the Water Continent, their trip from Mystal took longer than Kurtis had anticipated.

Turning his head to the pair, Lapras smiled. "Lively Town's just a smidge away. Yer lookin' fer th' Expedition Society, correct?"

"Yes, sir," Alexander confirmed. "I trust you know where that is?"

"Aye, she be just a short jaunt from th' port."

Kurtis grinned at Alexander. "I bet Damien and Aubree are a fun pair to hang out with! Maybe you could snap a picture with the group?"

The serperior laughed. "You didn't need to ask."

* * *

"We should stock up on sitruses."

Emma tugged Lorenzo by the tusk, steering him away from the Kecleon Mart. "I _know_, dear. We can do that _after_ the meeting - our stock isn't _that_ low."

"Fine…" the donphan muttered, peeling away from her grasp. "But we're going there _right_ after the party."

"It's a meeting."

Lorenzo scoffed, smiling. "Right. A meeting full of festivities and food. Remind me what a party is again, if you will."

Rolling her eyes, the glaceon sighed. "We still don't know the meaning of this 'party'."

"We're meeting several former humans," Lorenzo stated. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."

"...That was from another one of those visions, wasn't it?"

The ground-type let out a hearty laugh, followed by coughing. "Yeah… Yeah, it was."

Emma couldn't resist a chuckle of her own. "Next time, just tell me what it's about."

"Aw, but I wanted it to be a surprise for you just this once…"

She began laughing some more. "Alright, fair enough. Now come on."

* * *

Lockjaw deadpanned at Rocard. "You know you should wait for the others to come in before digging in, right?"

"But these orans are delicious!" the typhlosion retorted, his mouth full of the fruits. "Who cares if we snack on just a couple of them?"

"Ahem."

Rocard choked on a berry, turning around right as he recovered. Damien stared at him with arms crossed.

"Oh, sorry." Swallowing, Rocard flashed a weak smile. "Couldn't resist."

"Just letting you two know that the others will be here in roughly an hour," the raichu stated. "Aubree's gonna meet them at the front."

Taking a seat near the duo, Damien inspected a paw. "So tell me: how'd you two get here days in advance? You couldn't have taken the Lapras ferry, so what method did you use?"

Lockjaw noted the glint in Rocard's eyes, making him lean back in annoyance.

"We rode on Rayquaza," the fire-type proudly stated. "I'm sure you noticed harsher winds the other day."

Damien smirked. "Damn, dude. How'd you get him to do that?"

"Bribing with emeralds," Lockjaw answered with a flat tone. "We also saved him at one point, so there's that."

"Psh, bribe or not, that's damn impressive," Damien commented.

Lockjaw rolled his eyes. "Ugh. Yeah, I guess."

Rocard sighed, leaning in to whisper to the raichu. "He just doesn't want to admit that he was scared shitless on the ride."

"_Hey_!"

Damien chuckled. "How embarrassing."

"Moving on…" The fire-type grinned at him. "You got a special someone?"

The raichu's face went ripe as a tamato. "Uh— _No_, where did you—"

Lockjaw rested his head on a claw, a tiny smirk tugging at his lips. "Wow, flustered _already_? Must be someone important."

Rocard leaned back in his chair, snickering. "Let me guess… is it Aubree?"

Damien just glared at the typhlosion before walking out of the room.

Bursting out into laughter, Rocard glanced at the feraligatr. "It _is_! What a shocker, am I right?"

Lockjaw groaned. "That was awful and you _know_ it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a trip, wasn't it? I had to have _something_ special for the last day, after all. Thank you all for reading! See you... whenever the time comes, I guess.
> 
> <strike>Wow, Limesar. Sappy, much?</strike>

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for the lack of updates lately. I've been trying to get my life together (still am, but whatever), and my writing was going nowhere in that time. I assure you, however, that both Road to Redemption and Legendary Travelers will be getting a rewrite... some time in the future. Progress is slow, but it's getting there. I believe doing something like this will help speed up the rate at which I write.
> 
> If you're reading this but haven't read my previous two works... don't. They've never been finished, and they... have... _some_ redeeming qualities?? Overall, you aren't missing out. Hopefully, I can actually do both of them justice when the time comes...


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